Back to the future
by RoseDimitriLoveJunky
Summary: Sequel to Blast from the Past. Rose has been rescued from her 'fanged fate'. All the Strigoi in the word are dead, and with wedding bells in the air, things couldn't get any better right? Wrong! Tasha has broken out of jail and wants to start her own Strigoi army and once and for all get rid of Rose so she can have Dimitri for herself. Can they stop Tasha from taking over the world
1. Chapter 1

**Well here it is! The much awaited sequel to Blast from the Past. If you haven't read my first story yet then you need to go to my profile right now, laugh at the funny stuff that I have up there, and then read and love all of my other story's before you read Blast from the Past:) and for those of you that have read and loved my first story, well then happy birthday to you! **

**Disclaimer: this is my story, but the original story is Rachelle Meads:( **

_Previously on Blast From the Past._

_"Lissa, what's wrong? Are you ok?" I asked in a hard but very worried voice._

_"Oh Rose, it's horrible." She was crying, I could tell that right away and she was scared and on edge. Even without the bond, I could read her moods as well as I could read my own._

_"Lissa calm down, now what's horrible?"_

_"It's Tasha, she's escaped!"_

RPOV

I almost dropped the phone after she said that, but years of Guardian training stopped me. Tasha. Dimitri's psycho, murdering, want- a- be ex girlfriend Tasha had escaped from jail. Needless to say, this was not good for me.

"How!?" I asked my brain kicking back into action after hearing the news. If Tasha has escaped then that means one thing: she's out for revenge on the one that put her in there. And since she's probably still hot for Dimitri, that means that I'm number one on her hit list. Lucky me.

"She tricked the guards to remove their glasses and compelled them to let her out."

Figures. Moroi may be vampires, but they watch movies too. And after watching Men In Black, they decided that black glasses that make you resistant to memory tampering was just a bang up idea. So they made ones for Guardians to wear that could resist compulsion. I guess that Tasha must have smiled really sweetly and asked a guard to look at something for her and he lowered his glasses without thinking and BAM! He was her willing servant.

"Then she used her fighting and offensive magic to steal a car and break out of Court," Lissa finished a sob breaking out at the end. I let out a sigh of relief at that.

I know what you thinking I'm crazy right? I just found out that the person who shot me, in the heart I might add, that almost killed me, and that blames me for getting her sent to jail, just broke out of jail and was more than likely on her way here right now to finish the job and I'm relieved!

Well not as crazy as you might think. If she broke out of Court then she can't make another attempt on Lissa. I won't ever forget that she was the intended target for Tasha's built.

"Rose I know that you and Dimitri have gone through a lot, and that I was the one that insisted that you go on this trip. And that it was supposed to be a nice holiday so that you could tell Dimitri's family about you being engaged. But I would really feel better if you could cut your trip short and came back to Court. I'll even order you back here as the Queen if I have to. It's not safe now that Tasha's on the loose. Who knows when she's going to come after you!" Lissa said through her tears. I heard Christian in the background comforting her. Good. At least he comes in handy _sometimes_.

"Liss, calm down. Now when did she escape?" I asked trying to figure out what to do now. I looked up at Dimitri who was still standing next to me with a hard look on his face. I knew exactly what he was thinking. Tasha had escaped and she was out to get me. And that he wouldn't let her anywhere near me, and that he was going to protect me no matter what. Man I loved him.

"About an hour ago. I wanted to call you right away. But I needed to wait for a report and a sighting to make sure that she's really gone."

Ok, so even if she drives to the airport right now, which she can't, the Moroi have their own airport security, and they would have been alerted of Tasha's escape right away. So she is going to have to somehow get money (probably by compelling a human) get new clothes and get a ticket to Russia without using a major airline. So that's going to take some time. And that's even if she knew we were over here (which she might, word got around) and if she decided to follow is here or wait until we went back to Court.

Either way we had some time to work things out. But by staying here we put Dimitri's family and my future family's life at risk so we couldn't stay here. For long anyway. I looked at Dimitri again, he had been standing next to me the entire time and had heard everything that had been said. He just gave me one quick nod of his head to say that he had followed my train of thought and agreed.

"Ok Liss, give us a few days. We will be back by the end of the week," I told her. Because there was no way that we would be able to just sit back and enjoy a nice holiday with the family when we had to constantly watch our backs for Tasha's attack.

"Oh thank you Rose. And please be careful! " Lissa said calming down now that she know that I would be safe at home soon. Or as safe as I could be with a psycho bitch on the loose.

"Don't worry Liss, I'll be fine. See you in a few days," I said before I hung up. Without a word I turned and was instantly wrapped in Dimitri's arms.

"I promise Roza, I won't let her hurt you. I will hunt her down myself if I have to. I won't let her touch one of your beautiful hairs on you head," he said his voice low and full of determination.

"Don't worry Comrade. I'm not going anywhere," I said back in a low voice. I know he wanted to wrapped me in bubble wrap and keep me safe from all harm. But he needed to remember that I was a Guardian too and that I could look after myself.

"Do you think that we should tell your family the truth? They will find out soon anyway, this will be all over the Moroi news," I said still burying my head in Dimitri's chest.

"You know that I can't lie to my mama. But we can wait unit tomorrow and just enjoy the rest of the night with my- our- family," Dimitri said stroking my hair. I just smiled at the last part. I really couldn't wait to marry this man and become a real part of this family.

"Ok. But if we want to avoid suspicion then we should probably go back to the table and stop loitering in the hall like we have something to hide," I said pulling back a bit and giving him a slight smile.

"In a minute," Dimitri muttered and pulled me in close for a deep and long kiss. I have no idea how long we stood there for, but our kiss was interrupted by Vika who had walked right up to us without either of us knowing.

"Vika! I told you not to interrupt the call! It was the Queen for heavens sake! It could be really important," Olena called out apparently noticing that her youngest daughter was missing.

"They were just making out in the hall. What's so important about that!" Vika shouted back and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Mama wanted to know if you wanted to have hot chocolate in the living room or if you were tired and just wanted to go to bed," Vika said putting her hands on her hips.

"Yes but I never said to go and interrupt them!" Olena called out again but this time in a tired and not at all surprised voice.

"We would love to," I said without looking at Dimitri first. After all we had just agreed to spend this night with the family before we told them the bad news.

"Well then stop lip locking and get in there! You two are about to be married and that means that you can spend the rest of your lives together doing stuff like that. And not doing it in front of me," she said before storming off.

"No one was making you watch," Dimitri called out in a half angry voice. I just smiled and followed Vika out.

"Is everything alright back at Court?" Olena asked as she handed us our mugs.

"Nothing that we have to worry about right now," was all I said. It was better to tell a half truth then to out right lie. I bet that Olena would spot it right away. But one look at Yeva and I knew we were busted. I just hoped that she kept what she knew to herself until tomorrow.

"Well then that's good. So how long can you stay with us?"

"Only for about three days sadly. Strigoi may no longer be a threat. But we're still needed," Dimitri said picking up on where I was going and playing along.

"Well I'm glad that I don't have to worry quite as much about my baby boy now that those monsters are out to the picture," Olena said taking a sip of her drink.

"Mama! I'm 27 years old! I'm not a baby anymore!" Dimitri said in an adorable complaining voice, trying to defend his manliness, but doing the exact opposite.

"You will always be my baby boy no matter how old you get."

"But you have Vika! Baby her," Dimitri said still not happy with his new title.

"Oh don't you start! I had to fight tooth and nail just to get her to stop cutting the crust off of my bread when she packs my lunch for school! I don't need you to encourage her!" Vika called out from the kitchen making us all laugh.

"Well at least you're not the oldest! She still does it to me and I've had two kids!" said Karolina.

"Well you're not the man of the family!" Dimitri defended. "It's emasculating being called a baby!"

"I'm sorry who's the kitchen bitch at home?" I asked with a mix of innocents and sarcasm that made everyone crack up again.

"You just watch your mouth young lady. You just became my new baby girl," Olena said giving me the mum look.

I lowered my head and meekly said, "Yes mama."

And the night went on until it got to be around ten and the jet lag caught up with us.

"I think I'm going to turn in," I said getting up slowly. Dimitri followed looking just as tired.

"Oh of course. You two will stay in Dimka's old room like last time. It's our guest room so it's all made up."

"Good night mama." Dimitri said giving his mother a hug. I followed suit.

"Good night Olena," I said giving her a squeeze.

"It's mama dear. Welcome to the family," she said and I think I cried a bit.

"Night...mama." Wow that sounded nice.

"Night daughter."

I followed Dimitri up the stairs feeling like I was floating on a cloud. We quickly showered and fell into bed utterly exhausted.

"I heard that downstairs," Dimitri muttered into my ear as he held me tight.

"Really? Heard what?" I asked so I could hear it again. We may have had a bomb shell drop on us today but I was focusing on the silver lining.

"Mama asked you to call her mama. You're officially a part of the family," he smiled and kissed my hair.

"Well give us a few months and we can make that a reality," I said with a smile. I just hoped that we could find time to plan a wedding with Tasha on the loose. Who knows what she's capable of.

"It will be ok. She can't stop us from being happy," Dimitri said once again knowing what I was thinking without me having to say anything.

"I know, but we have to think about how much of a threat that she is. She's smart, well connected, a good fighter, and she's also lived in the outskirts of the Moroi society for a long time and probably has dirt on a lot of Royals. I underestimated her before and I ended up at the wrong end of a murder trial."

"That won't happen again. Lissa and I will make sure that finding Tasha is the number one priority around Court. And with the Strigoi gone we have lots of free man power for the job. Don't worry _milaya_, everything will be just fine. Good night," he said kissing me one more time.

"Good night _Товарищ_ (comrade)." Yeah now I can annoy him in two languages!

Tasha's POV

_Well that was refreshing,_ I thought as I drove down the freeway. Nothing like a prison break and a high speed car chase to give a nice kick start to the day. I smiled as I listened to what was going on over the radio. I had managed to steal a Guardian patrol car so I had a high end all frequency radio and I could eavesdrop on all the communications that were being sent around Court right now. They we sending my photo out over all the channels so that I couldn't leave the country. A good idea. If I planned to leave the country that is.

I may have been kept in a maximum security prison, but news like that got around fast. I was well aware that my Dimka and his blood whore were in Russia right now announcing their _engagement_. Ugh the very word made me press down harder on the accelerator. I know that men were weak minded things that could easily get distracted by a pretty face and a sexy body, but I really thought that Dimka was stronger than that.

I can't believe that that slut had managed to screw Dimka's brains out enough to get him to agree to something as stupid and scandalous as this. But it was up to me to snap him out of it. And I knew just how to do it. I can't believe that it has come to this but desperate times call for desperate measures.

And if this gamble paid off then not only would I have my Dimka by my side, but all the power that we will need to rule our world and the humans' as well.

**Sooooo. What did you think?**

**What evil evil plan dose Tasha have cooked up?**

**And am I seriously going to do what I did last story and leave you with all of these annoying questions eat the end? Well apparently so:)**

**Please review! It makes me wright faster:) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow! I mean seriously wow! I can't believe that so many of you are now realign this story after only my first chapter! Thank you all so much! **

**And evan though it's my birthday today! I'm giving you all a present so enjoy!:) **

**Here's the Disclaimer and all that jazz;)**

_I can't believe that that slut had managed to screw Dimka's brains out enough to get his to agree to something as stupid and scandalous as this. But it was up to me to snap him out of it. And I knew just how to do it. I can't believe that it has come to this but desperate times call for desperate measures. And if this gamble paid off then not only would I have my Dimka by my side, but all the power that we will need to rule our world and the humans' as well. _

RPOV

I woke up the next day to the smell of Olena's wonderful cooking and my stomach instantly started to rumble. I heard Dimitri chuckle behind me.

"Hungry already?" he asked in an amused tone of voice.

"Have you learned nothing in all the years we've been together? I'm always hungry!" I said and turned around for a not so innocent good morning kiss.

"Mmmm well one thing that I certainly have learned is that you're cranky and dangerous when you're hungry so I had better let you get up or you might take a bite out of me," Dimitri laughed as he loosened his arms from around my waist and let me get up.

"Mmmm not a bad idea," I said winking at him as I quickly got up and dressed. I was so excited to eat more of Olena's food that I was almost out the door before I remembered the news that we said we would tell the family about.

Dimitri, who had been watching me get ready on fast forward with a amused smile on his lips, read my body language right away and got out of bed to take me back into his arms.

"We need to tell them. They need to take extra care now that Tasha's loose. She may decide to go after one of them as blackmail," Dimitri said, always the logical one.

"Yeah I know. I'm just not looking forward to it. It seems like every time I come to your mum's home I drop a bomb shell on her head."

"True. But last time it was to tell her that I was alive and this time it was to tell her that you're alive and that we're getting married. So I think she forgave you for the time before that," Dimitri said pulling back and starting to get dressed.

"Well yeah, but if I keep this up I'm going to get banned from this house and that means no more of your mum's food!" I said truly worried that if I kept bringing all of this drama into the Belikov's lives that they would start to hate me for it. Dimitri just out right laughed at my fears.

"My mama would never cut you off from food. If anything she would try to feed you to death if she didn't like you. Though in your case that might not work."

"AH let's just get it over with! All this talk of food is making me even hungrier!" I said as I finished dragging a brush through my hair and opened the door.

As we walked downstairs, hand in hand, the smell only got better! I think I started to drool a bit as we walked into the kitchen!

"Good morning, did you two sleep alright?" Olena asked as she moved around the kitchen getting everything ready.

"Like a rock. But that's what jet lag does to you," I said with a smile as I sat down at the table and looked at the people sitting around it. Most of the family was already there; Vika was reading a magazine, Karolina was feeding Zoya, Sonya wasn't down yet, Yeva was looking at Dimitri and I like she already knew what we were about to tell the others, which she probably did. And Paul was playing with legos until he saw me come in the room and his whole face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Aunt Roza! Can we play cars after breakfast?" he asked with so much hope on his face that I had no chance of turning him down.

"Of course we can Paul," I said with a smile.

"Hey, after that do you want to hang out with me later? Vika asked looking up from her magazine with a smile that looked so much like Dimitri's that it is slightly warmed the chill in my chest that was building from having to tell them about Tasha.

"I know that you've already been here before, but it will be fun to show you around to all of my friends. After everything that's happened you're like a living legend. And you're marrying my brother! That makes me family to a legend," Vika said excitedly and I couldn't help but laugh.

"A living legend huh? Well what can I say to that?" I said with a smile as I dramatically flipped my hair over one shoulder.

"You had better stop it with compliments Vika. We wouldn't want Roza to-"

"If the next words out of your mouth have anything to do with me getting a big head then I swear I will cut you off for a month," I threatened in a low and deadly voice thet I usually save for Strigoi.

"Ooh you had better watch yourself there Dimka. You're not even married yet and she's already threatening to withhold sex!" Vika said laughing.

"You should be taking notes Vika, you've got to keep your man in line or they will think that they can get away with anything," I said with a proud smile. Vika just laughed at the look that Dimitri was giving me.

"So do you want to hang out with me or not?" Vika asked after she stopped laughing.

"No! She's playing cars with me!" Paul demanded looking worried that he wouldn't get a chance to play with me.

"Would you two give Roza a chance to breath? She only just woke up," Olena said as she put a big plate of food in front of me.

"Thanks mama!" I said and I happily dug in without another word. But I could definitely see how much Olena liked being called that.

"We can go shopping for a dress for the party," Vika said happily. Not bothering to ask me again if I wanted to hang out. She knew I would say yes.

"What party?" I asked confused as I looked over at Dimitri. He looked as clueless as me.

"Your engagement part DUR!" Vika said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I glanced over at Dimitri. Normally I would be all for a party, especially one announcing our engagement. But I had a feeling that no one would be in a party mood after we told them about Tasha.

"Listen Vika, now may not be time for a party," I said cautiously.

"Why not? You're on holiday, you can even get drunk if you like. It's not like any big bad Strigoi are going to come after you anymore." Vika said completely oblivious to what was about to happen.

"Well you see...you all remember Tasha right?" I started off lamely. I mean it's not like they could forget!

"The bitch that killed the queen, framed you for the murder amd then shot you in the heart? Yeah, I think her name rings a bell," Vika said her voice dripping with so much sarcasm that you would think that we were related and not her and Dimitri.

"Well she escaped from prison last night," Dimitri said cutting straight to the point. Everyone around the table gasped. Well except for Paul who was too young to understand. And Yeva who probably saw it coming.

"Sh...she escaped! Wha...how?" Vika stammered.

"She used compulsion on the guards and she escaped Court with a guardian car. That's all we know so far, and that's why we had to cut our time here short. We need to get back to Court and make sure that Tasha doesn't make another attempt to murder the queen," Dimitri said in a calm but firm voice. I was instantly set on edge when he said that Tasha might try and hurt Lissa. But she was the one that wanted Lissa in power in the first place so I think that she was safe for now.

"So you can understand why now might not be the best time for a party. But we can still go out for the day," I said quickly to try and salvage our time here, I didn't want it all to be filled with thoughts of Tasha.

"Oh Dimka! That's just horrible! Do you think that she will come here?" Olena asked, instantly thinking of the safety of her family.

"We can't say for sure. But she can't possibly get over here so soon after breaking out of prison and we're leaving in two days. So I think that you should all be ok. But just to be on the safe side I'm going to ask a few of my friends from St. Bart's to come by and check on you," Dimitri said taking a charge like a true leader.

"Don't worry so much about us we will be fine. You just need to remember that you are her real target, I want you to take extra care. She may not be a Strigoi, but she's just as dangerous," Olena said always the worrying mother.

"Don't worry about us mama. Roza and I have handled much worse. I mean have you seen our food bill?" Dimitri asked with a smile that instantly defused the tension in the room.

"Well with her eating as much as you I can only imagine!" Vika said laughing and breakfast continued like normal.

The rest of our time in Russia went by quickly. I played with Paul. Shopped and spent time with Vika. Olena tried to teach me some of her recipes, with verging amounts of success. And I cuddled up to Dimitri at night as his family shared embarrassing stories about his past. I already knew the best one about his sisters making him marry there dolls, but that didn't mean that I knew the others. Like Dimitri and Ivan getting drunk one time and waking up spooning each other in bed!

And of course our trip wouldn't be complete without an ominous premonition from Yeva. She came to our door one night and it wasn't to wish us sweet dreams.

"Beware because hard times are coming your way. You will face great loss and danger. There may be great joy but it can also lead to great sorrow. Be careful which path you take." And with that she turned around and left.

"Well that was a nice catch up. We should do it again next time we come for a visit," I said sarcastically to Dimitri as I walked back over to the bed.

"Babushka means well, but sometimes her warnings can cause more trouble then they're worth," Dimitri said pulling me close on the bed.

"What do you think she meant by '_you will face great loss'_?" I asked as I held onto him tighter. "You don't think she meant that I could lose you again? Or vice versa?" I had only just gotten him back! I wasn't ready to lose him again! I didn't think that I will ever be ready to lose him!

"I don't know, but it doesn't matter. Because nothing in the world is going to keep either of us apart, so there's nothing to worry about," Dimitri muttered into my hair. I took a deep breath, filling up my lungs with the smell of his aftershave and felt by body relax.

"Yeah, you're right. Goodnight Comrade."

"Good night Roza."

I know that time flies when you're having fun, but I had a feeling that this time it was because of what was awaiting us when we got home. And before we knew it, it was time to say our goodbyes. Everyone was crowded around the door giving last minute hugs and promises to stay in touch more.

"Now remember to eat at least one healthy meal a day to keep your strength up! And I want you to email Vika or call me the minute that you hear something about Tasha, and don't forget to dress warmly when you go out at night! I know that it's getting close to winter over where you live," Olena said going into 'over active mum mode' . But instead of teasing Dimitri, I just smiled. It was nice that she worried about him so much even though he was a grown man. It shows that she really loves him.

"Mama I'm Russian! I could walk around in shorts and no shirt and still handle it better than half of the Guardians in Court! And I know! I have been doing a very good job at keeping myself alive on my own for quite a few years now," Dimitri said in exasperation.

I just laughed at the mental picture that that gave me and hugged Vika goodbye.

"You need to catch that crazy bitch and beat it through her thick skull that she's never going to get her hands on my brother," Vika whispered into my ear as she hugged me one last time.

"Don't worry, I'll get her good," I said before I pulled away.

"Don't forget to talk to me when you call Aunt Roza," Paul said as he held onto me for dear life.

"Now how could I forget you Paul?" I said as I hugged him back.

"We will come back again after Tasha is caught, I promise," I said because I felt so bad for just showing up and then leaving so quickly after telling them that our lives were probably in imminent danger from a lethally skilled martial art and fire user. But hey, what family vacation is perfect?

"Good bye!" I called out once again before heading to the car. It was really nice to see the family again, but I can't say that I'm disappointed to be leaving so soon. The quicker that we're back at Court, the quicker that we can get started on finding Tasha.

Dimitri slipped into the driver seat and we were off.

The drive home was thankfully as uneventful as the flight after it and soon we were driving back through the gates of Court and being ushered into the Thrown room before we could even park the car. Lissa had ordered us to be delivered to her the minute that we set foot back in Court and apparently her loyal subjects were taking that order literally.

"ROSE!" Lissa cried as she threw herself into my arms. We were in her private chamber so she didn't have to worry about acting proper in front of anyone.

"Hey Liss, it's nice to see that you didn't get bored with us gone for a few days," I said as I looked at her desk that was overflowing with paperwork.

"It's Tasha's escape! It's all anyone talks about anymore! You would think that I would be the most worried about myself since Tasha was thrown into jail for murdering our last queen. But no! Half of the Moroi in Court cares more about their own safety while the other half are talking about making me nominate someone to rule in my place in case Tahsa succeeds in murdering another monarch!

"Did you know that there's even a word for that? Its called Regicide. I know that because that word has been thrown around Court so much lately that I have gone from learning of it's meaning to hating its existence in just three days!" Lissa said getting really worked up.

I wish that I could see if this was her darkness taking effect and that I could still do something about it. But sadly now that I'm not shadow kissed there's not really much that I can do about it.

"Where's firefly? Isn't he helping you deal with any of this?" I asked wanting to relive Lissa's stress a bit. If he wasn't doing anything to help her then I was seriously going to mess up his face this time.

"Oh he's helping me plenty. But right now he's making sure that his offensive magic students are working with Han's Guardians to better protect Court so that Tasha doesn't have a chance to commit Regicide...oh great! Now I'm using it!"

"Nothing is going to happen to you Lissa. Rose and I are back and you will be properly protected I guarantee it," Dimitri said instantly falling into the role of defensive guardian.

"Yeah don't worry about it Liss, we've dealt with worse than this before," I said with a cocky smile. Even though I wasn't quite as confident as I sounded, I was sure that Lissa was going to be ok. Because I was going to be watching her and everyone around her like a hawk till Tasha was back behind bars. Or better yet, dead.

"I'm just glad that you're back Rose, you too Dimitri. I told Hans that you would both report to him after I saw you so you had better head over if you're not to tired from the flight," Lissa said giving me a small smile.

"Not at all Liss. Don't worry about a thing. When has anything ever gone wrong when I'm around?" I asked and got stunned silence from the two people in the room.

"What? I'm not that much of a magnet for trouble am I?" I asked and once again I was met with silence.

"Ok fine you've made your point! But I promise you that I'm not going to let anyone hurt you and I've never broken my word when your safety's involved," I said and saw Lissa smile for real this time.

We went to Han's office and were let in right away.

"I hope that you two enjoyed your little vacation because it's going to be a while before you can take another," Hans said as he paced around his office looking at this file and that, piecing things together to try and predict what Tasha's next move might be.

"Now it doesn't take a genius to figure out what target Tasha is going to go after," he said looking at me with meaning.

"And that means that you can never be alone until Tasha is captured. Which shouldn't be a problem considering how much time you two spend together. But I'm really going to need Guardian Belikov's help with this one; no one knows Tasha moves better than he does," Hans said looking at Dimitri this time.

"And that means that I'm going to be stealing him from you for quite some time. So I'm giving you orders to never be alone, I don't want you being alone for one minute of the day is that clear?"

"I don't need a babysitter Hans. I'm more than capable of take on Tasha myself," I said and crossed my arms over my chest.

"I'm well aware of that. And I don't mean to come off as too blunt, but you're the bait that we need to set the trap with and we can't do that if you've already gone and gotten yourself captured. So I've assigned Guardian Castile to be your personal shadow. Whenever you're not with Guardian Belikov, guarding the Queen or with some other Guardian, then I want you to be with him."

I was really tempted to argue. But I realized that Hans had assigned Eddie to me on purpose so I wouldn't kick up a fuss. And he was right. I may be one of the best Guardians in Court, but even the best can get caught by surprise or overwhelmed. I flashed back to all of the bodies that I found when I went to do my qualifiers at Arthur Schoenberg's charges house.

I nodded. "I can live with that," I said.

"That's the idea," Hans said before getting back to the briefing.

"We made sure to freeze all of Tasha's assets when she was first arrested but we've renewed them in case she tried to make a grab at some of her money. But sadly for us she's far too smart to try that. Instead she's probably going to compel a human. Which means that by now she probably has all the money she needs to do whatever crazy scheme that she has un- doubtably cooked up while she was in prison. Which is where you come in," Hans said looking at Dimitri.

"You knew her best. What do you think her next move will be?"

Dimitri was quiet for a bit, looking deep in thought before answering. "I'm not sure if I can help you there, the Tasha that I knew is gone. She would have never thought of murdering the Queen or framing someone. I don't know what she's capable of anymore and I can't guess what she will do next."

"Well I need you to try. She may have snapped but people always fall back into their patterns eventually. What was hers?" Hans asked not letting this go. Again Dimitri went silent.

"Tasha was always smart and determined. When she set her mind on something she usually achieved it," Dimitri started off trying to get inside Tasha's head.

"And right now her goal is to get Guardian Hathaway. So how would she do it?" Hans asked taking notes.

Dimitri didn't look happy, but he did what he was told.

"She wants revenge on Rose," Dimitri said like it pained him and shot me a worried and pain filled glance. Like he was afraid that it was going to happen any second now.

"But I don't think that she will go after her directly. If she just wanted Rose dead then she would have shot her instead of Lissa when she was found out." Again he pause to look at me. "She wants Rose to suffer, like she did in prison. But she's not going to try and frame Rose again. She learns from her mistakes. No, she's going to find a way to make Rose suffer without putting herself in danger. So she's going to need help.

"You should keep an eye out for any rouge guardians that start acting suspiciously, any mercenaries too. I don't know what she has planned but it's going to need a bit of a distraction and a lot of man power if she wants to get to Rose," Dimitri said looking at me the entire time like I could disappear at any minute.

Hans just nodded. " I'll get my people right on it. I want you to run through any other ideas or plans that you might have with the others at our meeting tomorrow. Until then you are free to do what you like. I want you rested and ready for duty by 0600 tomorrow," Hans said before dismissing us.

We walked back to our apartment in silence. Our stuff was brought here by other Guardians when we got back to Court and were seeing Lissa. I just walked up to our room and through myself into our bed. Not wanting to ever move again.

"Ughhh what a welcome huh?" I asked as I buried my face in the pillows.

"It could have been worse. She could have killed someone when she escaped," Dimitri said laying down next to me.

"Yeah there is that. But I just hope that she doesn't kill too many people on her way to get to me," I said rolling over to look at the ceiling.

"I don't know what Tasha is capable of anymore. But I know one thing for certain. I'm not going to let her hurt you. No matter what Roza, I promise."

I smiled and instead of telling him how much that meant to me, I decided to just show him.

Tasha's POV

_Got you,_ I thought as I pulled up outside of his house. It had taken me almost two days of solid driving and the help of a private investigator that I had...convinced...to help me track him down. But I had done it. And now it was time for the next phase of my plan. I didn't like it, but such sacrifices had to be made if I wanted to get rid of the whore that took my man and make him see that I was right for him all along. And this was the first one.

I got out of the car and rang the door bell. A minute later an older man answered the door. He was good looking for his age but I guess that I really shouldn't have expected anything less.

"Can I help you?" he asked as he checked me out. I guess some things never change.

"Yes, you can actually," I said smiling big enough to show off my fangs. I pushed him back in to the house and shut the door behind us. He may have once been strong, but now he was weak and didn't put up much of a fight.

"W..what are you doing?" he asked.

"Awwww don't like it when someone bigger than you picks on you?" I asked as I walked close to him. I saw recognition in his eyes as I got close.

"Tasha? W...why are you doing this?" he stammered as he moved back as much as he could while looking at me in fear.

"There are many ways that I could answer that question. But let's just say that paybacks a bitch and so am I." And with that I bite down in his neck and begin to suck.

**AAAAA the cliff hanger queen is back at it again! Well yes I am! And if you want to see the next chapter then you had better give me some reviews!**

**So! Who did Tasha go to see?**

**What evil plan is she cooking up?**

**And what on earth am I going to do next chapter?**

**Well keep reading and reviewing and you will find out:)!**

**Also incase you didn't read my Disclaimer today is my birthday and I would really like a review as my present ****;) **


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the Birthday wishes:) maybe next year you can all pitch in and get me Dimitri:) **

**Disclaimer: you all know it anyway!**

"_W..what are you doing?" he asked._

"Awwww don't like it when someone bigger than you picks on you?" I asked as I walked close to him. I saw recognition in his eyes as I got close.

"Tasha? W...why are you doing this?" he stammered as he moved back as much as he could while looking at me in fear.

"There are many ways that I could answer that question. But let's just say that paybacks a bitch and so am I." And with that I bite down in his neck and begin to suck.

DPOV

It had been two...three?...four? Aahh it had been more than a few days since we got back to Court and more than a few days since we started working on the Tasha case and I have no idea how many days since I got a decent nights sleep! And we were still no closer to finding out where Tasha was going than when we started.

She had changed vehicles as soon as she was able, so we had no idea what to be looking for. She could be on a motorcycle for all we knew. But so far my hunch hadn't payed off. I was sure that Tasha was going to try and make contact with some people that she knew and could call in favors from but so far nothing that we had found had turned into anything. All of our leads ended up dry.

On a hunch, I decided to contact Sydney. The Alchemists had been a little shell shocked after the news finally sunk in that there were no more Strigoi to hide from the rest of humanity, and they didn't quite know what to do with themselves yet. But Sydney still had access to their computer files and might be able to give me a lead in Tasha's whereabouts. I picked up my phone and dialed Sydney's number. It rang for a bit before she finally answered.

"Hello Dimitri, let me guess, this isn't a social call," Sydney said with slight sarcasm in her voice, but I could hear the smile. She must be hanging out with Rose too much.

"I guess that's why they call you a genius," I said with a small smile of my own.

"Before you ask, I've already been monitoring the Alchemists' air waves and any gossip that I could pick up about Tasha's whereabouts, and I haven't come up with anything. There has been a report of a missing retired royal Moroi in the far out reaches of Court that some of the junior Alchemists have been sent out to investigate. But he has some what of a history of pulling disappearing acts and drinking too much, not to mention getting himself into trouble, so I'm not to concerned.

"But other than that things in the human works have been running smoothly. There hadn't even been strange reports of people saying that they were somehow "robbed" when they realized they they were standing outside a bank with no money in their hands or accounts. So I'm sorry to say that Tasha has gone to ground and it doesn't look like she will be surfacing until she's ready," Sydney finished and I let out a tired breath.

"Ok, thanks for the help Sydney, please let me know if you find anything out of the normal. We really need anything that we can get our hands on."

"Will do. Bye Dimitri," Sydney said before hanging up. I leaned back in my chair and just stared at the ceiling in defeat. That had been my last shot. Now I had no idea where Tasha was or what she wanted to do.

Just then Mikhail walked into the room looking as tired as me.

"Anything?" he asked as he took a sip from his 'who was even keeping count anymore' teen cup of coffee. Hans had put everyone who was able bodied and available on the case and we had all been working some pretty long hours.

"Nothing. Sydney has been following the Alchemists news but the best that she can find is a maybe missing Moroi. I've been searching all of our channels and still haven't found any trace of her. She must be sticking to the human world and compelling people when she needs something done for her or needs to feed."

It wouldn't be that hard. After all Rose and Lissa had survived on the run for two years without being caught. But Rose had let the Princess feed off of her; Tasha didn't have such a close friend to rely on and that meant that she would have to leave a tail of blood behind her when she moved from place to place.

"We will hunt her down eventually. So far all the reports that we have managed to get have pointed to her moving away from Court. Which means that that gives us more time to plan and find where she's headed, and unless she has some really good dirt on them I doubt that anyone from our world will be willing to help her. I mean murdering the Queen is a pretty big thing! It's not like she was caught shop lifting when she was a kid," Mikhail said looking on the bright side.

"Yeah, you're probably right," I said as I stifled a yawn.

"When was the last time that you slept?" Mikhail asked probably noticing the bags under my eyes.

"What day is it?" I asked with a weak smile.

"If you have to ask that then you need to go home and get some rest," Mikhail said with a tired laugh walking over to try and pull me out of my chair. I just shook my head.

"Hans wants all hands on deck for this and I'm the best man for the job. I'll be fine," I said trying to make my mind work but it was getting fuzzy.

"Hans doesn't need you dead on your feet. Go home and get some rest and come back tomorrow," Mikhail said and I quickly lost any hope of arguing when he said, "I bet Rose misses you."

Ah Roza. Maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if I just went home for the night. I really did miss holding my beautiful Roza in my arms. I had I barely seen her since we got back and I hadn't been home at all! Maybe I could just duck home for a few hours...

"I'll be back by 0600," I called over my shoulder as I walked out the door.

"Take your time! It's not like we have many leads to go on anyway," Mikhail called after me and I could hear the smile in his voice.

I quickly made my way home, eager to see my Roza again.

RPOV

It had been over a two weeks since we got back from Russian and so far nothing had happened! No threats, no attacks, nothing to suggest that Tasha was trying anything at all and it was driving me crazy! It's not that I wanted anyone to get hurt, especially since I was guarding Lissa, but why hasn't she attacked us?!

I was almost tempted to just walk outside of the wards right not with a big sign saying "come and get me Tasha!" Because patience was definitely not my strongest suit! And my temper seemed to be getting worst lately. But I guess that that was to be expected with what what going on in my life right now. I swear, all this stress was starting to affect-

"Roza?" I heard a tired voice call out.

"Dimitri!" I said excitedly as I ran over to the open door and threw my arms around Dimitri's neck and breathed in his marvellous aftershave scent. I heard footsteps walking away and I knew that my 'babysitter' had left for the night now that Dimitri was home.

"I missed you," I muttered into his hair.

"I missed you too. I'm sorry that I've been working so much lately but I just want to make sure that Tasha is caught before she can do any real damage to us or anyone else," Dimitri said sounding tired and dead on his feet.

"Why don't you go and lie down on the couch and I'll get us something to eat," I said as I led him over the lounge room and made him sit down. I went into the kitchen and got a bunch of basic food and loaded it onto a try for us to share.

While we had both been working long hours on this case, Dimitri had been working double time while I had been guarding Lissa so he was feeling it much more than I was. Not that I wasn't exhausted most of the time nowadays. But that would all pass once that bitch was back in jail where she belonged.

I brought the food out and saw that Dimitri had already fallen asleep. I didn't want to wake him up but I don't think that he has really eaten since we got back. I nudged his shoulder gently and his eyes flustered open.

"You can sleep after you eat," I said with a smile. He slowly sat up and looked at all of the food that I brought.

"Why so much?" he asked as he picked up an apple and began to eat.

"It's for the both of us," I said as I opened up the salt and vinegar chips and ate them hungrily. I had always liked them, but I think that they tasted extra good now that I was so hungry and tired. I easily polished off the bag and went for the chocolate bar next.

"It's still a lot of food. Why are you so hungry? We haven't even been to the gym lately," Dimitri said around a mouth full of apple.

"I think it's the stress of this whole situation. Maybe I'm stress eating," I shrugged my shoulders and went for the bagel next; I know that it's a breakfast food, but it looked and tasted really good right now.

"Fair enough. Have you had any luck in finding out where Tasha's headed because I'm still hitting a brick wall. Although I did call Sydney earlier and she didn't know anything else either so that has to mean that Tasha is staying out of trouble for now," Dimitri said finishing his apple and going for the grapes. What a health food nut.

"I know that they say that no news is good news but I'm getting a little worried about how quiet it is. Why hasn't she at least contacted us to threaten us or some thing? I don't like it."

"And?" Dimitri asked.

"And nothing," I said even though I knew that it was hopeless trying to hide anything from Dimitri.

"Something else is bothering you, I can tell," Dimitri said looking at me and waiting for me to crack.

"How the hell can you be so perceptive when you're sleep deprived?!" I said, truly annoyed and amazed. Dimitri just laughed.

"Guardian secrets," he joked. "Now what happened?"

I decided to come clean, there was no hiding things from Dimitri.

"It's nothing really. It's just that Lissa has it in her head that we can still plan the wedding with this whole Tasha thing going on. So we were looking at magazines and talking wedding talk and it hit me that..."

"That what?"

"I don't want to sound whiny. Because it's not like this is anyone's fault, well except for Tasha's that is."I said hating myself already.

"You're mad that Tasha is getting in the way of us getting married?" Dimitri said, rather than asking, with a little smile. I let out a breath.

"Yeah. And I know that that is stupid considering what's going on around Court with Tasha escaping and all. But...it's just that..." I let out a frustrated breath. "Things have just been so quiet and nice the last few months. And I had kind of hoped that the biggest problem in my life right now would be trying to plan a wedding that was big enough to make Lissa happy and small enough that I actually knew half the people there."

"But now I have to deal with your stalker and whatever crazy plan that she might cook up to get you back," I said as I buried my head into Dimitri's chest. Then I realized how much of a whiny bitch I sounded like and mentally slapped myself.

I looked up at Dimitri and smiled. "Let's just say that this wasn't exactly the start to our new life together that I was hoping for," I said and forced out a laugh.

Dimitri gave me a low chuckle and stroked my hair. "I get it. You're mad at Tasha for interfering with our lives. Well so am I. I know that this isn't exactly an ideal situation but we've made it through worse," Dimitri said actually sounding positive.

"I mean if you think about it, this whole Tasha situation is actually the easiest thing that we've ever faced," Dimitri continued in a thoughtful voice. I just looked up at him like he was crazy.

"What it's true! I mean compared to us hiding a secret relationship, me being turned Strigoi, you breaking people out of prison to get me turned back, you getting blamed for murdering the Queen, YOU getting turned Strigoi and foiling a plot of world domination and still managing to save my best friend and the love of his life. I think that between the two of us we should be able to handle a crazy convict that compelled the guards to give her a day pass out of jail!" Dimitri said almost laughing by the end.

I couldn't help but laugh with him. It was such a crazy thought and situation. It also could have been from the lack of sleep. But hey! I needed a laugh right now.

"Come on you, bed," Dimitri said and we both dragged ourselves upstairs and into bed. I drifted off into sleep thinking that Dimitri was right. After all we went threw how hard could dealing with Tasha really be?

Nek minuet! (If you don't get that then the A/N at the end will explain :)

"We have a problem," Hans said. He had given us an early morning wake up call and told us in no short amount of words to get our butts into his office because something had been discovered and we needed to act fast.

"Sydney gave us a report yesterday that some junior Alchemists were sent on a routine training mission to go and check on a retired royal Moroi that is a bit of a drunk and had a tendency to go 'missing' and sometimes cause trouble for the human police. But it seems that this time it was for real," Hans said and threw a stack of photos on the table for us to see. I picked them up first and studied the Moroi man in front of me. And it wasn't a pretty sight.

"What happened to him?" I asked as I went through the stack of photos that had been taken of the man from different angles.

"He was found on the floor of his home beaten and drained of blood. We believe that the culprit was none other than Tasha."

"So she's turned Strigoi?" I asked but it was clear what the answer would be. If a Moroi bites and drains a person enough to kill them, then they turn Strigoi. That's just how it worked. And Hans said that the body had been drained of blood.

"It hasn't been confirmed yet. But we believe so," Hans said sounding almost sad. I guess he was finally starting to believe that Strigoi were a thing of the past. But just when you think it's safe to go outside in the dark again...

"Any evidence to support this was Tasha? Or is this just the most promising lead that we've had so far?" Dimitri asked as he waited to look at the photos that I had. Why didn't Hans print out more copies?

I studied the the photos of the man. He was an older Moroi, in his late forties or fifties, with light brown hair that had silver streaks through it. Even in his late fifties or so it was clear that he had once been good looking man, even before the beating. I handed the photos over for Dimitri to look at... when he suddenly went stiff as a board when he saw them. Hans didn't seem to notice.

"We found the guardian car that Tasha had stolen. She switched cars as soon a possible but kept the Guardian radio so she could keep one step ahead of us at all times. We're now communicating solely on mobile phones from now on so she can't eavesdrop.

"It appears that she compelled some human to trade their car for hers and drive in the opposite direction of her to throw us off the trail. We interrogated him and he told us where he last had his car. We then found another human with the same story, this time a woman who gave us a vague description of the person who compelled her and it matched Tasha's. That car was less than fifty miles from the house where the Alchemists found the body. The name of the deceased is-"

"Randall Ivashkov," Dimitri finished for him in a strange tone of voice, like a mix between shock and relief.

"You know him?" I asked wondering what the man could have done to get this kind of reaction from Dimitri.

"Yes." Then there was a long pause like he was mentally preparing himself to say something.

"He's my father."  
**  
Yeah that's right! I managed to throw in an I am your father joke!**

**now Nek minuet is short for next minuet and it's just like saying. "I'm not going to eat cake today." And Nek minuet you are:) **

**Soooooo Ruby Circle spoiler! **

**So why do you think Tasha killed Dimitri dad?**

**Did she really turn Strigoi?**

**And will I update again soon? **

**Well you will just have to wait and see:)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well thank you all for your wonderful reviews! They really keep me going. **

**And to Guest: I'm sorry for the spoiler, I haven't read the Ruby Circle ether. I just googled Dimitri's father lol ;) so no more spoilers from me:) **

**I would like to dedicate this chapter to my wonderful beta who works so hard to give you all these chapters. Thanks Rocio3452!**

_"The name of the deceased is-"_

_"Randall Ivashkov," Dimitri finished for him in a strange tone of voice, like a mix between shock and relief. _

_"You know him?" I asked wondering what the man could have done to get this kind of reaction from Dimitri._

_"Yes." Then there was a long pause like he was mentally preparing himself to say something. _

_"He's my father." _

RPOV

Now I may be young, but I've seen a lot of weird stuff in my life, and I was pretty sure that there wasn't much left out there to stop me in my tracks and make me say WHAT THE?!

Then after meting Dimitri, I've also had years to work on my guardian mask so even if something big like that happened I think that I could do a good job at hiding it. And I was sure that after being a Guardian for so long that I had the act of hiding my shock down pat. But in hindsight I don't think that there could have ever been anything that could prepare me for the news that Dimitri just told me.

"_Your what_?" Hans shouted just as stunned as me, if not more, but being more vocal about it. I was actually speechless right now. I know right! The famous Rose Hathaway speechless! Well let me tell you that it does happen from time to time. And most of those times seemed to involve Dimitri.

"I said that Randall Ivashkov is my father," Dimitri said in the same dead tone, like he couldn't believe that he was actually having this conversation.

"Dimitri." I didn't really know what to say to this. I knew about Dimitri's father, I also knew that Dimitri hadn't seen his father since he had beaten him up when he was thirteen after he got tired of watching his father hit his mother. But what I don't know is how Dimitri is going to handle this. He may have hated the man, but he was still his father. He had to feel something. But the question was what?

Wordlessly I extended out my hand and took one of his, holding it and just letting him know that I was here for him.

"You're an Ivashkov?" Hans asked surprised. Everyone knew about the love triangle scandal that happened between Adrian and Dimitri fighting over me. I guess Hans was just surprised that Dimitri and Adrian were somehow related. Though for Dimitri's sake, I hoped that it was distantly.

"I'm a Belikov! I have nothing to do with him!" Dimitri growled. Wow. Calm, cool level headed Mister self control himself just snapped at our head Guardian. That was not a sight that you see often. Hans seemed to realize that this was obviously a sore spot and got back on topic.

"Of course. But your relation to the deceased can't be ignored. Tasha picked him out as her first victim for a reason. What do you think that was?" Hans asked keeping very professional realizing that he was kind of walking on egg shells here.

Dimitri was quiet for a while. I think that he was lost in his head a bit. I would be too. I gently squeezed his hand, just letting him know that I was here for him. He squeezed back and seemed to come back to himself a bit.

"I think that she saw it as doing me a favor. She knew how much I hated my father and wants to get on my good side after what she did to Rose," he said looking at me. I saw so many emotions in his eyes: shock that Tasha had done this, joy that his father was dead and could never come back and hurt his family again, guilt that he was happy that a Moroi life was lost, worry that Tasha was now Strigoi. I really hoped that we caught Tasha soon because Dimitri seriously needed a break.

"Do you think that the gas that was in the bio bomb that you set off six months back will affect her?" Hans asked looking worried, as he should. We may have a new Strigoi epidemic starting.

I shook my head. "No. By now the gas would have been breathed in and out by humans and recycled back into the trees and put again."

"Any chance that we can get Sydney to whip up another batch to stop Tasha before she starts?" Hans asked hopefully.

I shook my head again. "No. It may not have been toxic to us at first. But if we use it too much over a shot period then it could become lethal. We need to wait at least a year before we can try it again. And who knows what Tasha will be up to by then," I said muttering the last bit to myself.

"Ok then, do you have any idea what Tasha is going to do now that she's had her walking dead make over?" Hans asked getting annoyed that all of his ideas were getting shut down.

"Whatever it is, it will be aimed at Rose. She's without a doubt Tasha's target. But how is she going to do that now that she can't cross the wards?" Dimitri asked casting me worried looks again. It was a good thing that he was a Dhampir, otherwise the amount that he was working and worrying would of surely killed a regular human by now.

"We can't assume that anything is out of the question. Ivan managed to stage a full scale invasion from another continent and still take Rose hostage just as he planned. We can't rule out that Tasha doesn't have an equally cunning plan to get to her," Hans said a million scenarios running through his head. I'd hate to be in his shoes right now...

"We need to step up the security on Rose. You know that she's the one that Tasha is after. We can't let her get what she wants," Dimitri said instantly trying to protect me like always. But I wasn't going to take it this time.

"No," I flat out refused.

"Rose this is no time to act pridefully. You need to be prote-"

"I'm not being prideful, I'm being practical! If you wrap me up in bubble wrap and lock me away in a tower then Tasha is never going to come after me."

"That's exactly my point! If you're too hard a target then Tasha-"

"Will just stay out in the human world longer and turn more and more people until she has enough to really pose a threat. If I'm an easier target then she will come sooner and we might stand a chance of finishing her off for good," I said looking both Dimitri and Hans in the eyes. Dimitri didn't like it one bit and was about to share with us exactly that- when Hans stepped in.

"That's not a bad idea," he muttered as he stroked his stubble.

"What?" Dimitri asked surprised and angry.

"Well Hathaway has been the bait all along. But what's the point of dangling the bait if there's no hope of getting it? Then the prey will go after easier targets and we may not catch her before it's too late," Hans told Dimitri, sounding stronger and more sure of himself as he went on.

"Then why did you get her extra protection in the first place if you were just going to throw her to the sharks?" Dimitri said almost loosing his cool. I guess working non stop with little food and sleep on top of having his father murdered by his once upon a time best friend that was now out to get me was taking more out of him than we thought. Gee you think!

"So it wouldn't be so obvious that we wanted Tasha to got after her! She's not stupid. If Rose was walking around Court unguarded then Tasha would smell a trap and run for it before we had time to spring it! But putting more Guardians on Rose now, when Tasha is getting ready to spring into action this going to do nothing but hinder us!" Hans said taking control and letting Dimitri know with his tone of voice and his face that he wasn't going to tolerate Dimitri questioning and second guessing him anymore.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Dimitri calmed down. I gave him a small smile letting him know that I wasn't mad that he was getting so worked up and overprotective of me. He was just showing me that he loved me. What was there to be mad about?

"Hathaway, you will keep Castile with you as an extra guard like before. But you must both be on high alert from now on. Belikov, same goes for you. You're still the best man for the job when it comes to predicting her movements."

"But I didn't see this one coming. Maybe I'm too close to the case," Dimitri said still not looking happy about me not getting extra protection.

"That may be so, but it doesn't change anything. I've got half of court working on this and you're no exception. Dismissed," Hans said sitting back down at his desk and getting back to work. Dimitri and I walked out the door without another word. Once we were out of the building and out of the public eye, Dimitri wrapped his arms tightly around me, holding me close. I wasn't sure if this was a "just hold me" hug after finding out that his dad was murdered, a "I want to protect you from a psychopath" hug, or a "too much just happened and I need to hold you in my arms for a while," kind of hug. Either way, I wrapped my arms around him tightly and didn't say a word. We just stood there for a while, taking comfort in each other's arms. It was only after we heard voices and movement that we realized that we had been standing there for over a half an hour and it was time for lunch.

"I'm not happy about this," Dimitri said as he took my hand and we started walking down to find a place to eat lunch.

"I know. But we need to catch Tasha as soon as possible and that means that she has to believe that if she comes after me then she has a good chance of getting me. And if she sees that I'm surrounded then she's going to try for something even bigger that will probably cost even more people their lives. At least this way it will end quicker and not as many people will get thrown into the mix," I told him, hoping that he would understand.

"I know why you want to do it. But that doesn't make me any happier that it's happening. Or that I'm going to be too busy to be around you all the time so I can at least help stop it if it does happen," Dimitri said sounding down right miserable.

"Hey, I'm a Guardian too. And I was trained by the best so there's nothing that you need to worry about," I said giving him a teasing smile. He smiled back. Not a very big smile, but one none the less.

"Now let's get some food. I'm starving!" Just then my stomach grumbled causing Dimitri to laugh a bit.

"Of course you would think of food at a time like this."

"Hey I'm young! I'm supposed to eat a lot!" I defended looking at the food stalls with real interest and hunger. I saw a nice roast chicken on the menu which I loved and headed for. But I got a whiff of it from the kitchen and it didn't smell as good as normal for some reason. Oh well there was always tacos!

"You're 20, I think that you've stopped growing by now," Dimitri smiled as we went over to buy something to eat.

"Nu uh, not until I'm 22!" I said happy that I actually had some logic to back me up this time.

"That rule really only applies to humans Roza." Smart alec.

"Well I'm half human so close enough," I said winning the argument with my awesome Rose logic. Ha.

Tasha's POV

I felt powerful. But that was to be expected, one of the benefits of this life was the extra power. Not to mention speed. Becoming a Strigoi also appeared to unleash my cold blooded side. I thought that I was smart and ruthless before, but now I was capable of so much more. Now I was going to achieve my goal and get what I wanted almost too easily. All I needed to do now was aim for little Rose's weakness...

Two weeks later

RPOV

We had been called into Hans's office again, and I knew exactly why. Because he had news. And I would bet Lissa's deliciously full minibar fridge under her desk that it was bad news. I had been watching the news feeds to help Dimitri in trying to track Tasha down and I saw what was happening, Dimitri did too. And that was why we were being called in; because it no doubt affected us the most.

We came in and were told to sit down. Hans had a hard look on his face. This must be worse than I thought.

"I called you here because in approximately five minutes that phone is going to ring and give me an answer that were all either going to like or hate."

"So what's the question?" I asked not wanting this to drag on longer than it had to.

"The question is what has been happening to all of the people that have been going missing for two weeks. We think that Tasha is behind it and we think that she's turning them."

DAMN. This was exactly what we had been hoping she wouldn't do. We had only just been getting used to there being no more Strigoi and finally having somewhat of a normal life but there's always a cloud ready to rain on our parade!

"Any evidence? Or is the lack of evidence what concerns you?" Dimitri asked. He had actually been handling himself quite well for the last two weeks. He hadn't blown up since last time he was in this office, but surprisingly I had. My nerves were in high edge these days. I really hoped that it didn't turn into a pattern.

"They didn't fit the usual missing person's bill and they all had certain things in common. They were all young. None over the age of thirty. They were spread out but definitely heading in the direction of Court. And they were all taken in the two weeks after Tasha turned. I sent out a team to follow the path to see if they come up with any missing bodies or anything else that could point to Tasha and I'm going to get an answer very soon," Hans said and I felt my insides freezing.

"And if this is Tasha then it's clear what she is going to do," I said dreading the call.

"If it is as we feared then there are going to have to be some changes happening around here. We have to be ready for an invasion at any time. For all we know this could just be Tasha's diversion," Hans said. And then I heard a sound that made me sick to my stomach. The phone rang. Hans picked it up.

"Report," he said in a hard voice. He was quiet for a while and didn't let anything show on his face. He had had years to perfect his guardian mask. But as he heard the rest of the report, I could tell that it wasn't good news. I watched as Hans finish the call with a sinking heart. I already knew what he was going to say, but somehow I was still shocked when he put down the phone and looked us in the eye.

"The sighting had been confirmed. Tasha has indeed started turning Strigoi and starting her own Strigoi army."

Silence. That's all there was. No gasp of shock. No screaming or cradling your head in defeat. Just silence.

"I know that we agreed on only Castile to be your shadow, but from now on you will have two extras as far guards when you're not at work or with Belikov. This threat is now far too real."

I was still so stunned that Tahsa had gone through all of this just to get to me that I didn't even argue.

"You will both go about your day as normal. I'm not sure if Tasha has surveillance on you or not. But I'm not going to take any chances with this. Get used to being watched you too because from now on it's going to be happening a lot. Dismissed."

We walked out of the office for the second time that month with shocking news. Tasha had done the unthinkable. The same thing that had blacklisted the Ozera family name for almost twenty years. She had willingly turned Strigoi. And now she was creating an army with the sole purpose of hunting me down and killing me. Boy did I feel important right now.

"You're safe here in Court Roza, there's no way that she can get you. I know that last time Ivan managed but that was because no one saw his attack coming. But Tahsa has well and truly showed her hand and there is nothing she can do to get in here with the wards firmly in place. Don't worry about a thing," Dimitri said comforting me.

"I'm not scared of her! Do you know how many Strigoi I've killed?" I asked with forced bravo in my voice. No way was I going to show how unnerved I felt by all of this. Man I needed to get my emotions in check.

"No and neither do you. That's why you have a battle star tattooed on the back of your neck," Dimitri joked with a smile.

"My point is that I can handle a few measly Strigoi that managed to flip a circuit breaker and sneak into Court no problem," I said showing my cocky side. Dimitri smiled again.

"That's the spirit."

But as it turned out Strigoi breaking into the wards didn't turn out the be our biggest problem by far.

**Oh you must hate me by now! But don't worry, my beta already has my next chapter so the wait shouldn't be to long.**

**So. What's Tasha's big bad plan? **

**Whats up with Roses behaviour?**

**And do you think that Dimitri nibbles when he kisses? Lol review and find out!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: thanks for the love for my story. But the original isn't mine...but one day Dimitri will be... If I can fight Rose for him lol;) **

_"My point is that I can handle a few measly Strigoi that managed to flip a circuit breaker and sneak into Court no problem," I said showing my cocky side. Dimitri smiled again._

_"That's the spirit." _

_But as it turned out, Strigoi breaking into the wards didn't turn out the be our biggest problem by far._

RPOV

The real trouble happened the next day. Dimitri and I had both been working at Guardian HQ, trying to brainstorm anything that might be useful. When once again...yep you guessed it! We got called into Hans's office.

"You know I'm starting to see a pattern emerging here Hans, and I gotta say, I'm not liking it much," I said as I sat down next to Dimitri, who was bracing himself for the worst.

"Well I'm sorry that I'm inconveniencing you but our friendly neighborhood Strigoi just upped her ante," Hans said not looking any happier then we felt.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" I asked understanding the poker metaphor but not getting where he was going with this.

"It means that not only do we know for a fact that Tasha's the one behind the killings, but we now have footage," Hans said looking even grimmer if that was even possible.

"As in a tape?" Dimitri asked because I went quiet. I saw where this was going and I didn't like it.

"Yes," was all Hans said before he hit play.

So far Tasha had only gone after random humans, though Dhampirs were stronger and faster, it just happened that there wasn't a Dhampir community anywhere close so she had settled for humans. Which was bad enough. But that apparently wasn't good enough for Tasha because as we watched the tape it painfully clear what it was.

Tasha had started recording her work. She had gotten one of her flunkeys to record it because as we watched the screen we watched Tasha while she bit, killed and turned her next victim. Low blow.

"Are we really just going to sit here and let her do this!" I shouted and stood up so fast that my chair flipped over.

"Hathaway-" Hans started but I didn't let him finish.

"No! I don't care that I'm the bait and that you want to lead her here. I say we get a team together and wipe her out now! She's just getting stronger! Why didn't we do it in the first place?" I asked good and angry now.

"I DID!" Hans shouted standing up and staring me in the eyes.

"Y...what?" I asked. I hadn't noticed any of the Guardians missing from the ranks lately. Who could have been sent for the mission?

"After Tasha escaped I had teams searching for her but none of them found anything. But once she turned, Strigoi the number doubled. I sent out as many Guardians as I could that weren't at Court so she couldn't get tipped off. But someone very powerful must be on her side because all of the Guardians that have been sent out have either turned up dead or missing presumed turned Strigoi. If I sent you and Belikov out to go after her then I would have lost the last card in my hand. By getting her to come to us we have a much better chance of finishing this once and for all," Hans said calming down after his little rant.

I was shocked. How many people had gone after her? I was to afraid to ask. If they were all missing or dead then whatever it was the number was too high.

"So you're just going to let her torment us like this?" I asked shocked and empty inside.

"I don't have a choice," Hans said looking tired. I knew how he felt. I sure wasn't sleeping very well lately either.

"Isn't there anything that we can do?" I asked not wanting to give up hope.

"Right now no. We just have to hope that she comes after you and that we get her when she does. Let's just hope for the best," Hans said being dangerously optimistic. And oh boy did it backfire.

Because the next time when Tasha sent us a tape of her killing and turning people, she sent it to our _home_! I had found the tape outside the door this morning and decided to watch it with Dimitri before we both left for work.

And as if finding the tape outside our home wasn't creepy enough, the person on the tape wasn't just any human. It was Peter, my and Lissa's old house mate. We hadn't been very close but still it always hurts more when you actually know the person.

"She's doing this on purpose just to get at me!" I growled digging my nails into the couch. I told Dimitri who it was on the tape and he wasn't any happier about it than I was.

"We need to take this to Hans," Dimitri said taking the tape out and going to he door.

"And do what? You know that he's not going to let us go after her like we want to. He's just gong to tell us to '_keep on our toes and stay out of trouble_'," I said in a bad impersonation of Hans's voice as I followed Dimitri out the door. Eddie and the two nameless Guardians followed us out though I'm not sure why. They're meant to only be around when I was alone.

"I know," Dimitri said frustratingly running a hand through his hair which was out for a change. "But we still need to tell him. Even if it changes nothing, we're all in this together."

I didn't bother knocking on Han's door when we made it to HQ, instead I just barged right in.

"Guardian Hathaway. What is the meaning of-"

I cut him off. "Oh we just thought that we would drop by so that you could take a look at what else that that crazy bitch is sending us. And now apparently she delivers!" I said keeping my voice in a fake and sarcastic happy tone.

Hans wordlessly put the tape in and watched grim faced as he saw what Tasha was doing. When it finished, Hans looked back at us.

"Do you have any idea how this tape was delivered?" Hams asked eager to jump on a new lead.

"No. I found it on our front door when I woke up this morning. Dimitri and I are the only ones that have touched it so you can still dust it for fingerprints. But I think that the reason that they used a tape was because it was so old and already had so much stuff on it that it would be hard to run a trace on anything that you can get off of it at all," I said displaying my knowledge of TV crime shows.

"I see. And is there anything else different about this tape then the last one?" Hans asked writing down notes.

"Yeah. The fact that the guy in the tape used to be my old roommate when Lissa and I were on the run!" I almost shouted and Hans froze mid word.

"She's now targeting people that you know?" Hans asked because it was way too much of a coincidence that the next person that she turned was someone that I knew.

"Yes she is and I'm not going to stand for it!" I said getting good and worked up.

"You know what she's doing. She's playing with you! She's trying to get you mad enough to leave Court so she can have a clear shot at you. But you can't just let her get to you. If you do then she's already won," Hans said with a hard face. He knew as well as I did that Tasha was just going to keep sending these tapes to make me madder and boy was it working.

"You know where this is leading right? First she's going for strangers, then people I barely know, next it will be my friends! We have to stop her!" I shouted and slammed my fist down on Hans's desk.

"How? I've already sent teams of Guardians to get her and they've all failed, so what more can we do?" Hans asked desperate enough to actually listen to me.

"Send me!" I said an idea forming in my head.

"We've already talked about this. We need you here for bait," Hans said.

"No listen! You send me and I carry a small portion of the gas that Sydney created. Not enough to hurt us but enough to do the job. Then I can set it lose in the Strigoi camp when I find it. We don't need to wait for them to come to us, we can go to them," I said getting excited now. I hadn't really thought it through but that was actually a good idea.

"And I'll go with her. One of us can make a distraction while the other one sets it off," Dimitri said standing up next to me. Hans was thinking this over. It was a good plan and he knew that. Finally he nodded.

"Alright. Talk to Sydney and see if it's possible, if it is then we will work out finer points. Report back to me when you have something. Dismissed."

"Wow," I said as we left Han's office. "That was the first time in too long that I'm actually leaving Han's office in a good mood," I said excited about my plan. I wasn't just going to sit back and let Tasha go through with her plan to make my life a living hell. I may be a responsible Guardian now, but I was still Rose Hathaway! And I didn't let people push me around.

"I must say it will be a relief to be doing something other than research and planning. I'm not meant for a desk job," Dimitri said as we walked over to Sydney's and Adrian's apartment. It was early our time and late human time. But since Sydney had moved to Court to be with Adrian, so she was now running on our time schedule and would be up and looking for the coffee by now.

I knocked on their door and waited until they answered. I expected a coffee holding Sydney to answer the door, not an only wearing boxers Adrian.

"Well good morning little Dhampir! And what can I do for you?" he asked in a flirtatious voice. Some things never change. Adrian's smile didn't even waver when he saw Dimitri standing next to me. I had to give him this, Adrian knew how to stand his ground.

"And cradle robber, so nice to see you again. Did you have a nice trip home? Oh did you bring me back a souvenir?" Adrian asked all excited like a little kid would be.

"Sorry nothing much. I could give you a pair of Dimitri's boxers though, they've been to Russia. But sadly I don't think that you will be able to fill them up quite as nicely as he does," I said with a playful grin. I never got tired of teasing Adrian.

"I would cherish any gift that I receive from you little Dhampir," Adrian said dramatically putting his hands over his heart.

"Ok enough with the _small_ talk," I said my eyes deliberately looking down at Adrian's package when I said small. "We need to talk to Sydney," I said dropping the smile. Adrian picked up on my mood change and got more serious.

"Sure. Syd," Adrain called over his shoulder and opened up the door enough for us to step into his apartment. It was more than big enough with Adrian being a royal. A few seconds later, Sydney appeared coffee in hand and a serious look on her face.

"What's wrong?" she asked. She had been kept in the loop about Tasha escaping and probably also knew about all of the missing people. Hell she was probably the one to bring it to Hans attention in the first place. But just in case I gave her a quick recap and told her my plan. She got a focused look on her face and was quiet for a bit.

"So do you think that you can recreate the gas that we used to kill all of the Strigoi?" I asked crossing all of my fingers and toes.

"Well there's more to it than that. The first problem being that you're not Strigoi anymore and the whole chemical compound was based on your blood type. Also I don't have any Strigoi blood to use as a control to set a target on. And that's just in getting the right chromosomes in order to make the batch.

"I would also have to make a small dose so that no one else could get affected so it might not kill the Strigoi and might just knock them out for a bit. But I would have to also make it potent enough for it to affect a group that size in case you have to use it in an open space, which would also spread out in the air and could still cause problems which you would both need air masks for. Something that will be difficult to do now that the story of your success is so far spread. And finally, but most importantly, it would take me some time to get my hands on all of the ingredients to make it gas which are quite rare. In total, you're looking at two weeks at the best and a month at the worst. If I can get it to work at all," Sydney said doing the math in her head quicker than I could have if I had had a calculator in my hand.

Two weeks to a month! That was not what I wanted to hear right now. I don't even what to think about who Tasha's next target could be or how many targets she could hit before we had the Strigoi killing gas in hand.

"You don't by any chance have anything else that you could whip up quicker than that do you?" Dimitri asked not wanting to give up hope just yet.

"Not on the top of my head. But I will look into it. In the mean time I would suggest that you call all the people that aren't at Court and give them a warning if they are in range of Tasha's war path." Sydney said always the practical one. Now why didn't I think of that?

"Well thanks anyway Syd. Let me know if you decide to be brilliant and have a break through," I said getting up and walking to the door.

"Will do," Sydney called after us.

"Don't worry little Dhampir, you've beaten her once before. You can do it again," Adrian said giving me a quick hug.

"Thanks Aids," I said smiling at the nickname the Sydney had given him. He groaned and I just laughed louder.

"So you've got nothing new to bring to the table?" Hans asked after we came back to report.

"Sydney said that she might have something in two or so weeks. But other than that. Yes, nothing," Dimitri said with his guardian mask firmly in place.

"Then I have no choice but to reject your request of a mission. And don't even think about running off to the queen Hathaway!" Hans said looking threateningly at me. "Because she's on my side and isn't too crazy about the idea of you going on a suicide mission so I don't want to hear another word on the subject."

I knew that he would do something like that. But he was right. There was no way that Lissa would let Dimitri and I go out to try to take out Tasha and her group when a whole team of Guardians couldn't do it. But that didn't mean that I had to like it.

"And what are we supposed to do the next time that we get one of these tapes?" I asked grinding my teeth so I didn't fly off the handle.

"Sadly nothing. Just bring me the tape and we will see what we can get out out of it," Hans said and then waves his hands, ending our meeting.

"Well he didn't tell us to get back to work," I said suggestively to Dimitri as we walked out of Hans's office.

"And there's really isn't much point in us getting back to work now when it's so close to lunch," Dimitri said following my train of thought.

I bet that you can guess were we went next...

Yep. The gym! I know but we've been so busy lately that we haven't been able to work out properly for a while and I was starting to gain weight! So we did a heavy work out followed by sparring. And then we went back home to have hot sex. Hey! All work and no play...

The next tape came two days later and I was almost to scared to pick it up. What was wrong with me? But in the end I needed to so I picked up the tape, walked over and put it in the player. And then held onto Dimitri's hand for dear life.

DPOV

I pressed play on the remote and saw the screen come to life. If was dark,as I knew it would have to be for Strigoi to be out and about, and I saw Tasha standing behind some pore man that at first I didn't recognise... but then it hit me who it was and I gasp in surprise and squeeze Roza's hand.

"Do you know him?" Rose asked as I studied the tape closer. Roza noticed my reaction right away of course.

"I went to school with him. He was always a real jerk to me, made fun of my hair and joked about how he was going to get with my sisters. I really hated him," I said in a cold dazed tone of voice that I barely recognised as my own.

"First your father, now a guy that was mean to you in school. It kind of looks like she's going after your old enemies," Rose said putting the pieces together. It made sense. She wanted to get in my good books so that I would like her. She may also be under the twisted delusion that if she got rid of all of my enemies that I would somehow owe her.

Well if that was the case then Tasha had truly gone off the deep end and was crazya then I thought. We took the tape to Hans again but just like all of the other times it didn't amount to anything.

Another few days passed without a tape and I was starting to breathe a little easier. Rose and I were still both in edge, but it was getting bearable. Rose made sure to call everyone that she knew that was outside of the safety of the wards and made them all promise to keep safe up until Tasha was stopped. But it stayed quiet. Maybe she ran out of victims that we knew and didn't think that sending us ransoms was worth the effort?

But that hope was busted when we got the next tape. And the target was worse than I could have expected.

RPOV

The camera zoomed in on gates that I knew far too well. They had been present all throughout my childhood. The buildings behind them even more so.

It was St. Vlads. Tasha had attacked St Vlad's Academy.

And the target was my mother.

**Oh noooooo!**

**Well that escalated quickly! Who do you think Tasha's next victim will be?**

**Is she really going to go after Rose? **

**And and is it possible to clone Dimitris DNA so that I can really have him all to my self? Lol!  
**

**I promise**** that next chapter will have you screaming for more so you had all better give me lots of reviews, encouragement and death threats if you want me to get it to you faster;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Well hello there!:) I am so happy with the amount of death threats that I received last chapter that I am going to share them with all of you! **

Rue-xx (Guest)

Rue-xx:DAMN YOU! JANINE! REALLY?! YOU DO NOT CLIFFHANGER WITH JANINE FREAKING HATHAWAY AS A POTENTIAL STRIGOI! WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO TO US, WOMAN?! You just wait for me to show up at your house and make you type faster with a gun to your head, because...Dammit! UPDATE! :'0

**Thanks, but I must ask, if you shoot me how do you intend to get the next chapter?**

DauntlessTrin

Death threat... hmmm... weLL IF YOU DONT UPDATE THIS GOSH DARNED BOOK SOON THEN THOSE EVIL NIJA BIRDS, UNDER MY CONTROL, WILL COME AND EAT ALL THE EARWAX OUT OF YOUR EARS UNTIL THEY BLEED. THEY WILL THEN CONTINUE TO PLUCK YOUR EYEBROWS UNTIL YOU HAVE NONE OF SAID EYEBROWS. SO YOU'D BETTER UPDATE SOON.

**Very original lol**

**Now without further ado you the disclaimer:)**

_But that hope was busted when I got the next tape. And the target was worse than I could have expected. The camera zoomed in on gates that I knew far too well. They had been present all throughout my childhood. The buildings behind them even more so. _

_It was St Vlads. Tasha had attacked St Vlad's Academy._

_And the target was my mother. _

RPOV

NO!

That was the only thought that my mind could process at that moment. My mother and I might not have the best relationship in the world, or really even be that close to each other, but I still loved her! And I certainly didn't want to see her get turned to Strigoi!

Unlike the other tapes, this one didn't have just one victim that was being turned. It was of one of the Strigoi holding the camera and recording while the rest of the group were attacking the school. How did they get past the wards? _I bet that they had humans helping them again like last time, _I thought at the back of my mind as I watched the school that had been the closest thing to a place that I could call home getting attacked.

I watched as Guardians fought Strigoi, sometimes winning, sometimes losing. Guardians were constantly moving around from place to place since our numbers were low and we were always in demand so I only knew a few of the Guardians that were fighting. But the ones that I did recognize made my chest tighten.

There was Alberta. The woman that practically raised me and was more of a mother to me than my own. Then I saw Stan. I may have hated him all throughout my school life and still do. But I didn't want him to fall to that fate either. But the worst one by far would have to be the small figure with the bright mob of red hair. My mother.

When had this happened? If there was an attack at the school then surely we would have been notified right?

I watched helplessly as Tasha and my mother went head to head fighting for their lives. My mother was a world renowned Guardian. She had more than ten molnija marks, she could handle Tasha right? I was shocked silent as my mother punched Tasha, but she was too fast and dodged. I squeeze Dimitri's hand tight and felt the tears spill down my cheeks as my mother made a lunge for Tahsa's heart... And missed. Tasha grabbed her and forced my mother down onto her knees. Tasha looked straight into the camera and smiled a cruel smile.

"I'm coming for you Rose," Tasha said in her cold Strigoi voice, which sounded even weirder than normal, before she bit down into my mother's exposed neck.

And then the screen went dead.

"NOOO!" I cried out and before I even knew what was happening Dimitri wrapped his arms tight around me and I was crying hysterically into his chest. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't! It had to be a trick, you could do all kinds of things with special effects these days right? My mother had to be fine, she just had to be!

"Sssshhhh Roza shhh. It will be ok. I promise that I will never let her near you," Dimitri muttered.

_Who cares if I was safe! What was the point of being safe if Tasha's just going to target all the people around me that I loved!_ I wanted to cry out. But I was too hysterical and was crying too many tears by this point to form a sentence. This can't be happening, it just can't!...wait, maybe it didn't! If Hans hadn't called an emergency meeting to inform all the Guardians about this then maybe it really was all just a trick!

I got up off of the couch and sprinted for the door, and before Dimitri could even get the words, "Where are you going?" out of his mouth I was already halfway down the hall. I stormed into the Guardian HQ and ran straight into Hans's office.

"Is it true?" I demanded. I knew that he knew what I was talking about when a hard look crossed his face. I felt my heart sink.

"It depends on what you saw," Hans said trying to get me to calm down before I decked someone. Well that wasn't going to happen!

"St. Vlads being attacked! My mother getting turned. Tell me!" I demanded and felt Dimitri following me into Hans's office.

"It's true. The school was attacked and your mother was bitten," Hans said in a sympathetic voice and I felt like I might faint. I swayed on my feet a bit and felt Dimitri's arms wrap around me for support.

"But not turned. Tasha must just be trying to play with your head," Hans continued. But I didn't hear a word that he said after "bitten but not turned." I was so relieved that I collapsed into Dimitri's arms, utterly exhausted.

DPOV

I caught Rose just after she started to fall. I can't believe that this was actually happening. I knew that Tasha wanted to get Rose out of the way and wanted to get me, but attacking St Vlad's school and biting Rose's mother just to get to her? This was getting too far out of hand and I needed to do something right now before it affected Rose anymore. She was trying to hide it, but she was turning into a reck. She wasn't sleeping well, she was eating far more than she normally did. I even caught her crying a few times! What Tasha was doing was psychological warfare and it needed to be stopped. And I was going to do it.

"Did she just faint?" Hans asked shocked. Rose was a tough Guardian, and not much could make her mind switch off like that. But everybody had their breaking point and Rose had just reached hers.

"Tasha had been picking off Rose friends and family one by one and she just saw her mother being attacked and bitten, that would mess with anybody's head," I said almost angrily. I hated that Tasha was doing this to Rose and that there was nothing that I could do about it! I wanted more than anything to jump into a car right now and drive all the way back to St. Vlad's and hunt Tasha down and stake her right in that frozen cold heart of hers! Assuming she had a heart, so that I could finally bring peace to my Roza.

"I understand that this is putting a lot of stress on the both of you. But if I have to, I will put you both under house arrest so that you don't go running off in the middle of the night to put a stop to this. I already told you the plan and I am sticking to it. I can't risk my two best Guardians being turned."

"We need to do something! They're killing all of our Guardians faster than the plague! If we just sit here and do nothing then soon it will be too late!" I shouted losing it for the fist time in weeks. But standing here in Han's office with an unconscious Rose in my arms and listening to Hans say that we still had to stay here and wait like good little baits was the breaking point for me today.

"I understand your frustration. But unless Sydney has magically come up with another batch of Strigoi killing gas I'm forbidding you from leaving Court! All of the Guardians together is our only chance of beating her! So I suggest that you go and tuck Guardian Hathaway in bed and sit tight until I tell you that it's time to move, do I make myself clear Guardian Belikov?" Hans said sounding every bit like the Head Guardian that he was.

"Yes Guardian Croft," I said formally and walked out of his office carrying Rose in my arms. All the while thinking that Hans really could be the jerk that Roza called him sometimes.

I took Rose back home and put her to bed before starting up lunch. Rose's appetite had been growing and I had to start cooking a lot more just to keep up with it. It's a good thing that she is so active otherwise all of this stress eating would be catching up with her. As I choped up veges for a Stir-fry, I tried to think of ways to better prepare ourselves for when Tasha comes. Advanced guards outside of the wards was a bit risky but would give us an early warning for when Tasha struck. But she was sending us the tapes on purpose. Maybe she wanted to get us jumpy and make defensive moves like that because it would put us right where she wanted us?

Either way we couldn't just lay around Court like sitting ducks waiting to get shot! I briefly entertained the idea of setting booby traps to lower some of her numbers before she even made it into Court. But it would be far too easy for a Moroi, Dhampir, or some on duty Guardian to forgot about them when they were on perimeter check to set them off. And that would just set off a bunch off false alarms that we really didn't need.

So that just left it with tight ranks of Guardians trading shift and keeping a close watch. It wasn't anything new, but it had worked well in the past. I heard movement in the apartment and so I wasn't surprised when I felt a small pair of arms wrap themselves around my waist from behind and hold me close. I quickly put down what I was holding and turned around in her arms so that I could hold her properly in mine. We were silent for a while until Rose finally spoke in a quiet voice.

"I can't believe that she's doing all of this just because you picked me over her," Rose mumbled into my chest.

"I don't regret a thing _milaya_, I would chose you over her or anyone else a thousand times over," I muttered into her hair reassuringly.

"Every time that I wake up, I keep hoping that this is all just one bad dreem. I wish that it was, then at least innocent people wouldn't be getting hurt just because they were friends with me," Rose said her voice cracking at the end as she let out a small sob. I held her even tighter.

"None of this is your fault. Tasha just doesn't know when to quit. This will all be over soon you'll see," I said trying to make things seem better than they really are.

"I want to call my mum," Rose said pulling away slightly as she looked into my eyes.

"Of course. Why don't you go do that now while I finish cooking lunch?" I suggested and got a small smile at the mention of food.

"Make extra. The trauma of seeing my mother getting bitten is adding to my stress," Rose said trying to make a joke out of this bad situation. I smiled to myself, but still added even more food because I knew that Rose would never joke about that!

RPOV

"And you're sure that you're fine?" I asked my mother for what must have been the tenth time. I knew that I'm not usually one to worry but all this business with Tasha is really starting to affect me, maybe I need to get checked out, see if there isn't anything more than just stress that's wrong with me?

"I already told you that I'm fine. This isn't the first bite that I've gotten and it probably won't be the last. Now I want you to focus on your job and catching that vile woman when she makes her move," my mother said not sounding the least bit worried about her only daughter facing down the same opponent that just handed her her ass.

"Don't worry mum, I've beaten her before and I can do it again. Bye," I said because I could smell that lunch was ready.

"Ok Rose, good bye." And then she hung up.

The next day there was another tape at the door. And I was so sick when I saw it that I actually ran to the bathroom and threw up. I hadn't thrown up since my last hangover when I was 15! But I guess that the thought of someone that you loved being tortured and turned on tape and delivered to your door brought out the worst in you.

"Are you alright Roza?" Dimitri asked as he helped me up and I rinsed my mouth out.

"Yeah, it's just stress, I'll deal with it. Come on," I said and got the tape. I pressed play and gripped Dimitri's hand tight again. But when the tape started to play it wasn't someone that I knew.

"One of your enemies?" I asked Dimitri as I looked over to see his reaction.

"No one that I remember. She must have run out of people and sent us some randoms that she found on the street," Dimitri said stopping the tape and getting ready to go to Hans's. I was slightly relieved that I didn't know the person, but that didn't make it any better that someone had just become Strigoi food.

"Why don't I handle telling Hans about this one? You need to take a break, I know how much this is affecting you and it's not healthy," Dimitri said looking at me with his big chocolate brown eyes. I knew that it was a cowards move but I really didn't feel up to going another round with Hans right now.

"Ok. I think that I need a nap anyway. I swear that I haven't slept well in weeks," I said as I yawned.

"Sweet dreams Roza," Dimitri said and kissed me on the forehead.

"And tell Hans that we need surveillance outside our door so that we can catch whoever it is playing messenger boy, it might lead to something," I said before heading up to bed.

I went upstairs and I actually got some seep before I was woken up by a knock at the door. I knew that it had to be important because if it wasn't then Eddie would have told whoever it was to buzz off because he would have certainly been on shift by now.

I opened up the door and I was expecting some court minion that was sent to tell me something that he thought was oh so important but could really have waited until a real meeting. But instead I was met with the familiar figure of my father.

With a broken arm.

"Dad! What the hell happened to you?" I asked surprised. My dad was Zmey. A bad ass mobster that you didn't mess with even on the best of days. And he wasn't a normal Moroi that was weak and easily broken either. He knew how to fight. But the more surprising thing was that he was usually surrounded by more Guardians than a royal Moroi would be. If this did have anything to do with Tasha, and come on it would! Then this was a really bad sign.

"Hey little girl. Don't worry about this," he said gesturing to his broken arm. "I've had worse injuries at royal board meetings," he said playing it off with a charming smile.

"How the hell did that happen?" I asked already knowing the answer.

"Well it appears that young Miss Ozera hasn't taken kindly to you stealing the person that she deluded herself into thinking was her man. Or the fact that you played a key part in foiling her attempt at regicide." Wow. Everybody really _was_ using that word!

"How did Tasha even get close to you? Don't you have like five highly trained Guardians around you at all times?!" I half asked half yelled as I pulled him into my apartment.

"Yes I do little girl. But Tasha seems to have acquired herself a skilled little army that managed to neutralize my Guardians and get to me. Much like she did with your mother," he said in a cold and deadly voice. I guess that he didn't like anyone messing around with his woman.

"So Tasha went after you too." I guess that I really should have seen this one coming. But Abe was just so well protected that I thought that Tasha would go after an easier target then fight all of his Guardians. If she did just launch an attack on St Vlad's, she must have more people working for her than I thought.

"Don't worry little girl. This is nothing. Your mother and I are made of tougher stuff than this," he said with his trademark cocky smile.

"So you've talked to mum?" I asked even though it was kind of obvious. "How is she?" Knowing her she was probably just putting on a brave face around people so she didn't seem weak. Huh, I guess that we do have something in common after all.

"A little shaken but otherwise fine. I've managed to convince her to move here to Court so she will be a bit safer until she fully recovers."

I seriously wanted to smack my dad across the face right now. "What were you thinking?!" I yelled instead. "Tasha is coming here! You've done nothing other than putting her in the line of fire!" My dad was by no means dumb so why didn't he see this one coming?

"Woah take it easy there little girl! I arranged for her to come here because much like you, she doesn't let anybody push her around and was itching for a re match. Not to menti4on that with her here she had far more back up and support so there's less chance of her getting hurt again. I tried to make the best out of a bad situation," Dad said proving me slightly wrong about his being an idiot. But hey! There's still time!

"So where's my future son in law? He had better be taking care of you or so help me he will be walking funny for the rest of his life," my father said still managing to make a death threat against Dimitri despite everything that's going on here right now.

"He taking good care of me don't worry. In fact, he insisted that I stay home today and catch up on some missed sleep because this whole Tasha situation is stressing me out," I said in a proud tone of voice. Though I don't have much to be proud of. It was all Olena and the work that she put into raising her son right.

"Good. Even though I have a feed into Court security and know all the comings and goings of this place, why don't you catch me up on what's been happening so that we're all on the same page here," my dad said as he walked into the lounge room like he owned the place. I gave him a quick re cap and he just nodded his head like he knew it all already. Which he probably did considering what he just said.

"So who do you think her next victim will be?" I asked after I finished.

"It's hard to say, but it has to be someone that you care about equally as much or more about than your mother and I. And there can't be too many people on that list," my dad said absinthe absentmindedly scratching his beard.

"There was only one person on that list. But she wants Dimitri as her bed buddy, not her victim. So it had to be someone else. But who?" Just then the door opened quietly and I was instantly on guard. Until I heard quiet footsteps that I would know anywhere.

"I'm awake Comrade you don't have to tip toe," I said with a bit of a smile on my face. The next minute, Dimitri popped his head around the corner and gave me a warm smile.

"How did you sleep?" he asked as he walked over to sit next to me. But froze when he noticed first my father siting on the opposite chair, and then his broken arm and instantly put two and two together.

"Well that explains why the past tape didn't have anyone that we knew on it," Dimitri said in a flat tone of voice.

"What do you mean?" I asked him not following his train of thought.

"What exactly happened when you were attacked Mr Mazur?" Dimitri asked in a calculating voice.

"I was walking out of my home one night behind my Guardians when suddenly they were jumped by a group of Strigoi. Then Tasha came at me expecting to overpower me without a problem. But she was to overconfident and I managed to fend her off until I got back inside and behind the emergency wards that I had set up for such an occasion as this. But before I got away, she managed to give me this," he said as gestured to his arm.

"And did you notice any of the Strigoi filming this?" Dimitri asked like he knew what was going my dad was going to say next.

"Now that you mention it, there was someone running around with something like that in his hand yeah."

"That makes sense. So far every tape that had been sent to us except for the first one has been someone that we knew. But the one that we got sent this morning wasn't. My guess is that it was a failed attempt at Tasha trying to bite you and she didn't want us to see that you out maneuvered her so she sent us some random instead," Dimitri said like he was piecing it all together in his head.

"Great! This just gets better and better doesn't it!" I said getting as angry as I used to just after I absorbed some of Lissa's darkness. "When is that bitch going to stop hiding behind a camera and come and face me!" I screamed wanting to punch something. Unfortunately the only thing around me right now was my injured father and my fiancée.

This was just all so unfair! Why couldn't I just be happy for once? Why did everything in my life have to be so hectic? It was like someone was watching me from above and just writhing out all of these different and crazy scenarios for me to act out just to entertain themselves!** (Lol)**

"Easy Roza, it's going to be ok," Dimitri said in a soothing voice that I instantly responded to. "I know that things aren't exactly good right now, but with every tape that she sends she gets a bit closer to us. And then you can put a stop to this for good."

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He was right, soon this would all be over.

"I need to get rid of this anger. I'm off to the gym to punch the crap out of the bags," I said before walking out.

"Don't forget to use gloves this time!" Dimitri called out after me knowing that it was better to stay out of my war path right now.

"Will do!" I called back and walked out the door...and was instantly followed by my three new shadows.

"Eddie I swear that if you don't came and walk next to me right now like a normal person this second I'm going to make you my punching bag and use you to take my anger out on!" I snapped out and Eddie quickly did as I said.

"Had a talk with you father did we?" he asked in a light but cautious voice not wanting to say the wrong thing and set me off.

"Yes and now I need to go and put a photo of Tasha on a practice dummy and stake it repeatedly until I feel less murderous!" I said actually liking that idea and making a mental note to get more pictures of Tasha for just that reason.

"Better her than me when you're in this mood," Eddie said looking a little scared for his life.

"Don't worry Eddie, you're safe, I don't much care about the rest of my shadows because honestly I can handle myself just fine. In fact why don't you take the day off?" I suggested. I hated that my best friend had to work suck long and crazy hours just to keep me safe when I was acting as the bait anyway.

"I don't think that Hans would like that," Eddie said sounding all responsible. When did that start?

"It doesn't matter. My father is here now and I don't even have to ask to know that he's going to assign his extra Guardians to me for as long as he's here so I will have more then enough protection. So go ahead. Take the night and tomorrow off. I'll clear it with Hans, it'll be fine. Besides, I know that Mia misses you," I said just to seal the deal with a convincing smile. I knew that he must be missing Mia terribly and I wanted him to have a break.

"Well I can't argue with that Rose logic now can I?" Eddie said with a laugh.

After spending three hours mercilessly punching the crap out of the bags and staking all of the dummies that I could find that reminded me of Tasha, I finally went home. My father had already left and as I predicted had left a bunch of his Guardians outside my door. I nodded to them as I walked inside and took a nice and relaxing shower.

"Hey, feeling any better?" Dimitri asked as I went into our bedroom and sat down beside him and snuggled up close.

"Yeah, much. Now I'm too tired to be angry or mad, I just want to curl up in a ball and go to sleep," I mumbled. Man I was sleeping a lot lately!

"Good idea. You need your rest. Good night _milaya_," Dimitri said before kissing me and turning the light off.

Man what a day. I was so glad that it was over. I really couldn't see who else that Tasha could get to now. I mean she already attacked St. Vlad's which held a bunch of people that I cared about and my mother. And now she's attacked my father and broken his arm. There really wasn't that many more people that I cared about over here to threaten. Unless she decided to go over to Russia, but then that would hurt Dimitri which was something that Tasha definitely didn't want to do.

I drifted off thinking that after both my mother and my father getting attacked that the worst was behind me. But you know what they say. Bad things come in threes.

The next day when the tape showed up I was ready for it. There wasn't anyone left that I could think of that would get targeted so it must just be another random. I pressed play and held on tightly to Dimitri hand just like every other time and watch in confusion as the screen came to life.

It wasn't an attack. It was a recording of a front door to an apartment that looked familia. Oh no! Did Tasha find someone that I forgot about? A clawed hand reached out and opened up the door slowly and walked in. The inside was mostly neat and clear but it did have a few things lying around that made it clear that someone lived there. There was pizza in front of the TV and flowers on the table so I would guess that it was a couple.

The camera person walked forward and down a hall. I got a real bad feeling as the figure opened up the bedroom door and walked inside. Just then the person holding the camera zoomed in on the two people sleeping in bed together totally unaware of the Strigoi standing over them. Then none other then Tasha walked into view and held her sharp deadly claws over a Eddie's sleeping throat.

NO!

How did she get into Court?

She then looked straight into the camera and smiled coldly at me like last time. But unlike last time her message was longer and far more disturbing.

"I'm coming for you Rose. And when I do, I'm going to take away the person that you care about the most."

**Dun dun dunnnnnnn Scary huh?**

**So is Eddie going to survive?**

**What's up with Rose? **

**And dose anyone else want to curl up and sleep with Dimitri?:)**

**Review and give me some inspiration to wright:) **


	7. Chapter 7

**I an SOOOO sorry! It's been a whole week snits I updated! But I have a good excuse! I went to go and see WICKED LIVE! And now my life is complete!...well it will be when Dimitri finally realises that he loves me and leaves Rose...but hay! Baby steps!**

**So here's the Disclaimer you know what to do with it !**

__

_The camera person walked forward and down a hall. I got a real bad feeling as the figure opened up the bedroom door and walked inside. Just then the person holding the camera zoomed in on the two people sleeping in bed together, totally unaware of the Strigoi standing over them. Then none other then Tasha walked into view and held her sharp deadly claws over a Eddie's sleeping form._

_NO!_

_How did she get into Court?_

_She then looked straight into the camera and smiled coldly at me like last time. But unlike last time her message was longer and far more disturbing._

_"I'm coming for you Rose. And when I do, I'm going to take away the person that you care about the most." _

RPOV

No! No no no not Eddie! Mason already paid the price for being my friend. I couldn't live with myself if Eddie was taken from me too!

I watched helplessly as Tasha moved her razor sharp claws across Eddie's throat before the tape ran out like it did last time with my mother.

_No_! I couldn't handle this again! I just couldn't! I quickly got up and ran for the door.

"Rose! Where are you going? Hans's office is in the other direction!" Dimitri called out thinking that I was on my way to demand that Hans let me go after Tasha again. But I had bigger problems to deal with right now. You know other then the crazy bitch that was trying to drive me as crazy as she was.

I ran until I was outside of Eddie's door and didn't even bother knocking, I just barged in.

"Eddie! Eddie are you here?" I yelled as I desperately searched every room for...him - I couldn't think of looking for his body just yet. Dimitri had been one step behind me the whole time and was now, like me, searching for Eddie...or Mia!

I was so caught up on being worried about Eddie that it never even crossed my mind that Tasha may have hurt Mia and just not bothered to record it thinking that I still didn't care much about her because we were never that close when Tahsa last hung out with us!

"Mia! Get your ass out here right now! Mia!"

"What is going in here? And what did Mia do this time to get you so worked up about?" A voice so familiar that I actually cried a little, said from behind me and I turned around and threw myself into Eddie's arms.

"Thank goodness you're ok," I said my voice muffled by Eddie's shirt.

"Of course I'm ok, why wouldn't I be?" Eddie asked sounding confused as he wrapped his arms around me concerned as he held me.

"Tasha sent us another tape this morning. It was of her sneaking into your room and holding her claws over your throat," Dimitri said with relief in his voice. I couldn't say much because I was still too wrapped up in making sure that Eddie was alive to speak.

"What? That's impossible I wasn't even here last night," Eddie said sounding like he didn't believe us...or rather believe Tasha's tape.

"You weren't? What about Mia?" I asked pulling back a bit and looking Eddie in the eyes.

"No. Even though you gave me the night off doesn't mean that Hans did. I was on duty all night going through some files that Hans thinks might be of key importance for finding Tasha. This is the first time that I've been home since yesterday. Mia was at her place last night getting the last of her stuff before she moves in with me. And if you were looking for me then why were you calling out for Mia?"

"The tape only showed her holding her claws over your throat, but then it cut short. So we weren't sure whether Tasha actually killed or turned you. Or if she decided to get Mia since she was sleeping right next to you at the time. I ran straight here just to make sure that you were both ok." I muttered. Eddie's eyes widened.

"She tried to hurt MIA!" Eddie said sounding shocked and angry.

"She might have. We don't know. Come back to our place and we will show you the tape," Dimitri said taking charge like the born leader that he was. We quickly went back to our place and put the tape on. I watched as Eddie's face went from unbelieving to worried to scared for his and Mia's lives.

"T...this..j...just can't be real," Eddie stuttered out shocked.

"Sadly it is," I said hating Hans right now for not letting me go after Tasha before when she was on her own, or when she only had a few followers.

"Maybe it isn't. If you weren't home last night then that means two things. One, she either recorded that tape a while ago and was just sending it through now- but then how would she of known that you had the night off if that was the case?" Dimitri asked sounding as confused as I felt.

"You think that we have a leak?" I asked as I snapped into Guardian mode.

"It's possible. Hans did say that someone very influential was helping Tasha evade capture and tipping her off when Hans sent out teams after her when she just broke out of Court. But that doesn't explain how she managed to get past the wards in the first place," Dimitri said looking intently at a spot on the wall like he always did when something was bothering him.

"And option two?" Eddie asked looking a little pale. He probably wanted to go and find Mia now and make sure that she was ok.

"Option two is that the tape was a fake and that she was never here at all. Which I both like and hate. I like it because then that means that she never made it into Court so we are all safe for now. But if that was the case then how did she make a replica of Eddie and Mia's home so fast? Either way something is wrong here."

We were all silent for a bit after that. But then something very disturbing occurred to me.

"If Tasha was really here in Court and had access to the guardian housings, then why didn't she just come to our place and off me while she had the chance?" I asked and saw Dimitri stiffen at the thought.

"Either she had the tape for a while and wanted to torture you like she's been doing, or she really was faking the tape and didn't have the opportunity at all," Eddie said coming back to himself a bit. "Either way, it's clear that I wasn't the target and that there's someone else that you need to be worried about right now," Eddie said looking at me with sympathy.

I was about to ask him what he meant by that statement...when suddenly it clicked.  
_  
"I'm coming for you Rose. And when I do, I'm going to take away the person that you care about the most." _

Dimitri. She was coming after Dimitri. Who else would I possibly care more about than my best friend and my parents? Not to mention who else does Tasha want to get her slimy Strigoi fingers on more than him? This whole attacking and tormenting me was just a distraction, she's been after my man the whole time!

"Roza? ROZA!" I distantly heard Dimitri calling my name, but wasn't he sitting right next to me? I blinked and shook my head to clear it. I saw Dimitri sitting right next to me on the couch and it looked like he had been calling my name for a while now. Eddie was also hovering over us looking just as concerned.

"Roza are you ok? You zoned out, like you used to when you were in Lissa's head," Dimitri said looking worried.

"No.. I mean yes I'm ok, but no everything isn't ok. She's after you now Dimitri. She's going to either hurt you or take you because she knows that that will hurt me the most," I said and reached out and held onto his hand for dear life.

"It's ok Roza. We knew right from the start that she was going to come for us, this is just her trying to shake us up and unsettle us before she comes. We can't let her get to us or she's already won," Dimitri said in a soothing tone trying to calm me down.

"But what if she succeeds? I've already lost too many people in my life that I care about. I can't bear to lose you to," I said hating that Tasha had brought me to this, but losing Dimitri was the one thing in life that I truly feared.

"That won't happen, nothing in this world can ever take me away from you again. It would take an entire army of Strigoi and that still wouldn't be enough." Dimitri said smiling reassuringly.

"And besides," he continued with a cheeky smile, "I am one of the best Guardians in Court. I can take care of myself," Dimitri said, his eyes dancing with amusement. I tried to resist, but in the end I gave in and smiled back at him.

"Now why don't I go and make us all some breakfast and we can relax and have the morning off," Dimitri said getting up to do just that. We were technically on shift today. But we were more on permanent call. And that meant that while we may work every day, our hours were far more flexible. Also Hans knew how crazy our life was right now and wouldn't even raise an eyebrow at us showing up late.

Eddie came over and sat next to me on the couch and smiled at me like the goof that he used to be when we were still in school together.

"So. How did you think that I looked on camera? Because I'm thinking about going into Hollywood," he said finishing his sentence with a straight face. Which of course made me burst out in laughter.

"Please, no one is going to pay money to see your ugly face on the silver screen," I said smiling at how stupid he was being.

"I think that Mia would disagree," Eddie said faking sounding offended.

"So she's going to buy out every movie that you're in? I think that you will end up spending more money than you make that way Eddie boy," I laughed back.

"Maybe, but I was actually thinking that she would just nag and annoy all of the producers in Hollywood until I got my own sitcom. With this dazzling wit and charm I'd have the fans eating out of my hands in a minute," Eddie said back, now laughing along with me. We continued to poke fun at each other until Dimitri finally called us in for breakfast. He made blini!

After breakfast we all decided to bite the bullet and report to Hans in his office. You could say that he was less than pleased by the news. But honestly, I couldn't tell, how could you? All the man ever does is frown at everything!

"It's obvious that Guardian Castile was the target and that Tasha is still following the pattern of attacking your loved ones," he said after we showed him the tape.

"Well yeah we kind of already figured that one out. What we want to know, is what you're going to do about it. And DON'T say nothing." I was feeling slightly murderous after this morning and I really wasn't in the mood for Hans's "bait" idea right now.

"I didn't want to have to do this, but if the tape is real and Tasha did manage to get her people in here, then I have to take action."

"Finally," I muttered under my breath. But from the disapproving glance that I got from Dimitri, I knew that I was overheard.

"I'm calling in as many reserves as I can. It's clear that Tasha is crazy enough to attack you in Court like we planned. But keeping it low profile is no longer an option. We didn't count on her having so many cards up her sleeve. She will attack us no matter how many Guardians we have around the place so we might as well be prepared."

"That's all you're going to do?" I asked shocked. He wasn't going to launch a preemptive strike? Hey I did learn some stuff from school!

"That's all I can do at this point. I didn't know were Tasha is and it's clear by this point that we have a spy that is just going to give away our attack plan if we do make one. I'm not going to lead my people into a slaughter for no reason," Hans said looking tired. It really can't be fun having his job.

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. There was nothing that we could do until the spy was found. But that didn't mean that I was happy about it.

"What about Dimitri? I mean it's pretty darn obvious that he is the target now. Does he get put under babysitting as well?" I asked not wanting to let that crazy bitch within touching distance of my man.

"Yes. Guardian Belikov will also be assigned far guards." Oh Dimitri didn't like that one bit.

"Guardian Croft with all due respect, I don't-" Dimitri started before he got cut off.

"I don't want to hear it. You insisted that Guardian Hathaway get extra protection when she was the target. But now that you are, it's time that you take your own advice and accept it."

Well that was a nice small victory. But not enough. I bet that if I push Hans he might actually let me-

"I know that look Hathaway. And I also know what it means. I don't want to see you in this office for the rest of the day. Dismissed," Hans said cutting my plans off before I even had time to voice them.

"What did he say?" Eddie asked when we walked out.

"On the usual. Blah blah be the bait blah blah keep your hands off of the deadly weapons blah blah you should take more time off to sleep with Dimitri. You know the usual," I said with a straight face. Which just make their faces even funnier when they realized what I had just said. Eddie bursted out laughing and Dimitri just looked scandalized.

"I seriously doubt that Hans said that to you," Eddie said recovering a bit but still smiling like an idiot.

"Hey I've had a big couple of weeks, you can't expect me to be able to come up with witty repartee on the spot like normal," I grumbled.

"I know that things have been hard lately, but it will get better soon. Why don't you go and visit Lissa. I know that you two haven't spent much time together lately with all of the mess going on with Tasha right now," Dimitri said with a kind look in his face. No matter what that man will always put me first. How did I get so lucky?

But sadly I couldn't take his suggestion today. "If you think that I'm going to leave you alone for one moment after what happened this morning, then you must be dumber than Christian," I said looking Dimitri straight in the eyes.

"I'm going to stay here in HQ all day I promise. I'll be surrounded by a dozens of Guardians. I'll be just fine I promise," Dimitri said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and leading me out of the door.

"It will be sun up in a few hours anyway so the chances of anything happening are highly unlikely. So why don't you go and just have a nice relaxing time with Lissa."

Damn him and his stupid logic. I was supposed to be the one with stupid logic!

"Fine. But if you go anywhere else today I want you to tell me," I said giving him a warning look before leaving.

"Guardian's honor," Dimitri said holding his hand up over his heart.

"Good. I'm sure that Lissa's just dying to bombard me with more wedding talk," I said with a smile actually happy about that for once. With everything that has been going on lately Lissa's wedding babble is exactly the thing I need to occupy my mind with.

"Have fun," Dimitri called out to me after giving me a quick kiss good bye.

"Will do!" I said and made my way over to Lissa's room. And was once again followed by my shadow. Not as many this time. It was just Eddie looking firm faced and emotionless. I guess that Hans took the threat against Dimitri just as seriously as the one against me.

I walked along like normal, but this time I didn't try and make mindless small talk with Eddie. After his late night visitors last night I could tell that he had gotten a lot more serious about this. Not that he hadn't taken it seriously before when it ws my life at risk, but the fact that Tasha could have hurt Mia last night and not just threatened to hurt him had really struck home. And I really couldn't blame him, I know that Dimitri would be punishing himself to no end if he had been sleeping right next to me while a psychopath threatened his life and could have just as easily taken mine.

Lissa was working today, like she was most days being the Queen, but she was the boss and could take a break whenever she wanted so I knew that she would stop work for me. I didn't bother knocking on her door, the guardians were used to me and didn't bother stopping me to check me over before I went into the thrown room either. They just nodded their heads politely at me instead.

I walked in and sure enough saw Lissa busy at her desk looking through mountains of paper work.

"Damn Liss couldn't you get one of your dozens of personal assistants to do that for you? I mean that is what you pay then for, so you don't have to deal with this Queenly paperwork crap," I said as I ungracefully plopped down on a couch that looked elegant and gorgeous but certainly wasn't comfortable.

"And how do you expect me to get a decent nap in on my shift if you don't even supply a comfy couch for me to do it on!" I said loudly and heard a few muffled laugher coming from outside.

"My PAs sorted through all of the crap that I didn't need to deal with. This is the stuff that actually matters. And your not even supposed to sit down when your on shift let alone get in a cat nap so that point is moot as well, " Lissa said smiling as she got up and walked over to sit next to me.

"How have you been? I've haven't seen you outside of your shifts guarding me, how are you coping?" Lissa asked instantly going from queen mode to caring best friend. I loved how she could do that. I took a deep breath and let it out showing the exhaustion on my face.

"It's been rough Liss. I mean it was bad enough when she was just going after strangers, but now it's the people that I care about. I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I actually can't wait until there's an attack at Court. At least then Tasha would finally come out in the open instead of hiding behind her tapes and I could fight her myself. Did you know that she's now threatening to take Dimitri away from me? I mean I've lived through that once, and it's not going to happen again."

"Of course not Rose. This is nothing like what happened back at the Academy. You have so much more back up, more skill and you and Dimitri together are like an unstable force of nature. Tasha won't even last thirty seconds if she actually manages to get into Court," Lissa said in true best friend style, never once thinking that I couldn't achieve the impossible.

"Now let's talk about something more important," Lissa said slapping her hands on her knees with a big smile spreading across her face. "Lest talk about you wedding dress!", she said and bounced up and down squealing like a thirteen year old girl instead of the 20 year old Queen of our race. I groaned but didn't complain. After all, this mindless girl talk was what I actually wanted right now.

"So I was thinking with your dark skin tone we should definitely do a deep red color. And your hair should be in loose ringlets down your back because it will both look smoking hot with the dress and because you always said that Dimitri loves you with your hair down. Now how do you feel about sleeveless? Or maybe small shoulders straps? Now you definitely have the boobs to go shoulder less but that is so retro 90s so I don't think that we should go with that. Now how full do you want the bottom do your dress to be? I mean obviously you will want a tight fitted waist because hey you've got the body for it. And I know how much you like tight things that show off your curves. But I think that it's your wedding and that you should go with a fuller bottom and show Dimitri that you can both look like a sexy porn star and a queen," Lissa rambled on.

"Woah woah wait! Did you just call me a porn star? I've only ever slept with Dimitri! And there was no camera involved trust me. You know how private Dimitri is when it comes to our sex life," I said laughing from the shock of that comment and the stupidity of it. Lissa just rolled her eyes.

"I didn't say that you were a porn star, I said that you had the body of one!"

"Well is that any better?!" I laughed out.

"Well for one you would probably get paid more if you were a porn star!" Lissa said now doubling over with laughter.

"So you're suggesting that I quit being a Guardian for the Queen and become a porn star so that I can afford the wedding that I want so that I can look like a Queen when I'm really a porn star pretending that I'm still a Guardian guarding the Queen?" I said literally babbling out nonsense by this point. It just felt so good to let go and laugh at something stupid again. By this point Lissa was beyond talking to so we just sat there laughing for I don't know how long. Then once we quieted down a bit we would look at each other and then burst out in laughter again for absolutely no reason!

"Well that wasn't how I imagined how our talk about your wedding dress would turn out, but I guess I should have learned long ago not to expect anything normal when you're involved," Lissa said when she was finally capable of talking again.

"Admit it. You love it when I'm involved in things. It makes them more interesting, " I said smiling my man eater smile just because I could.

"Ok ok you're right. Now let's actually talk dress designs. I have some magazines that we can go over together," Lissa said and got them from her desk.

We settled back down and started picking out designs that I liked and that Lissa deemed acceptable even though I had told her time and time again that I didn't want a big fancy wedding, when I suddenly felt sick in the stomach.

"What's wrong Rose?" Lissa asked concerned.

"I think I'm getting an ulcer or something, I've been feeling crap for about two weeks now," I said as I made a mental search of what food could help me feel better. Yes. Food is the answer to everything.

"Hey you're not allowed to get sick! I'll call in a doctor and get you checked out!" Lissa said as she got up and was about to press a button to her PA.

"No Liss! Plsese you know how much I hate doctors!" I pleaded. It was the reason why I hadn't gotten checked out by now. I had spent so much time in the Med clinic at school that I now had a life time hatred of anything that white and sterilized.

"But what if you're really sick?" Lissa said concerned.

"Dhampirs don't get sick, it's nothing Liss I promise," I said waving her worry off.

"Well at least do a blood tast to see if there's anything majorly wrong."

I looked at her like she was crazy. "Lissa, if I'm not willing to even go to the doctors to get a check up then what makes you think that I will be willing to go and get a blood test? You know how much I hate needles," I said determined not to go anywhere. Lissa just rolled her eyes at me.

"I didn't mean a real blood test,"she said as she went into her on suite bathroom and came out holding a little box.

"This it the latest break through in medicine. All you do in prick your finger and a drop of blood comes out and you put it on the pad. Then it analyzes your blood and turns a different color for whatever you have wrong with you. Each color tells you a different thing. You just check the back of the box to find out," Lissa then pricked her finger and demonstrated. Her blood turned a blue color.

"What does that mean?" I asked and Lissa checked the box.

"It means that I'm low on blood sugar and that's why I feel more tired than normal. Ok your turn," Lissa said handing the box over to me. I took it and read the instructions on the back. It didn't really look much like a needle, and it was better then going to the doctor I guess.

"Ok Liss I'll give it a shot," I said and got up to go and get her and myself a band-Aid for when I was done. I didn't want to get blood all over the stylish and uncomfortable couch.

I pricked my finger and waited. It took a bit longer for the color to show up, but when it did it was a soft pink. I looked at the back of the box for what that meant...and almost dropped it.

Pregnant. My blood was telling me that I was pregnant.

...Well that couldn't be right. I must have done something rong. I re- read the back of the box again and checked the steps.

AAA that was it! The blood test was set to Moroi blood that's why. I changed the settings on the test and pricked my finger again before putting another band-Aid on. The results were coming quicker now.

But just as I was about to check what dark red meant I heard panicked noises, a door being slammed opon and people running. I dropped the box grabbed my stake and ran out the door ready to fight whatever was attacking.

The room was filled with Guardians that had a similar idea and were all crowding around Lissa protectively.

"What's going on?" I asked as I ran over next to Lissa to make sure that she was ok.

"Courts under attack," one of the Guardians shouted as they surveyed all around the room making sure that their security hasn't been breached. I felt my heart clench in both anticipation and dread.

"She's here."

DPOV

It was almost sun up and I was just getting ready to call Roza and tell her that I was heading home...when the alarm sounded. I looked around and saw the same shocked and surprised look on everyone's faces.

"Alright everyone put down your tea cups and straighten up your dresses, we've got company," Hans said as he ran into the main room and started barking out orders and checking security feeds. I had my stake in hand and was ordering around the junior Guardians to do a perimeter sweep and to report back if they found the breach and I was just about to call Roza and make sure that she had gotten Lissa in to the safe room when I over heard Hans muttering to himself.

"Come on come on where are you?"

"What are you looking for sir?" I asked as I bent down over the security screens. All Guardians had their radios on them so he couldn't be looking for someone that was off duty.

"Look at the screen Belikov and tell me what you see," Hans said not sounding happy.

I did as he said. I looked at the gates, the perimeter, the forest, the front and back of Court and couldn't find anything out of the normal. When it hit me.

"There's no Strigoi running around. If this isn't an attack then why did they trip the alarm?" I asked trying to make sense of it.

"That's what's got me worried as well. Hathaway was with the queen right?" Hans asked me.

"Yes."

Hans nodded to himself. "Good then at least she's well guarded. But I want you to go and give her back up. You two together are better than half of the Guardians here at Court and if you ever tell Hathaway that I said that I will deny it," he said a little smile breaking through.

I smiled back. "Of course sir." I said and ran off to check on Roza and Lissa. But when I got there I saw that there were no Guardians outside the doors. That was strange. There should be Guardians both in and outside of the thrown room at all times. And even if they did decide to all go in and protect the Queen, they should have at least left someone outside to keep watch of the situation.

I picked up the pace and barged in the room...when I heard a loud explosion and felt the room shake...that came from the safe room!

I ran over and quickly entered in the code. But the lockdown procedure that had been set in place in case the Strigoi ever tried to use explosives had been activated and the code wasn't responding. I was going to have to log onto the on line security and ask Hans for a manual override code and who knows how long that could take with this attack going on!

But what choice did I have? I contacted Hans and after five painfully long minuets I finally got the go ahead. I looked around me to make sure that there were no Strigoi lurking around the corner waiting to jump on me once I opened the door before I put in the last digit. I opened up the door...

And saw a sight that almost made me sick.****

**So sorry to do it to you again...but hay, if you keep reading and reviewing then you will find out what happens next won't you;) **

**Soooooo is Rose pregnant?**

**Is Dimitri really the target? **

**And what oh what sight did Dimitri walk in to that made him sick? **

**Well Review and find out:) **


	8. Chapter 8

**Wow guys and dolls, please keep up with the reviews! They seriously make me up date faster!:) **

**And yeah here's the Disclaimer:... Bet you haven't read that one before hu;) **

_I ran over and quickly entered in the code. But the lockdown procedure that had been set in place in case the Strigoi ever tried to use explosives had been set off and the code wasn't responding. I was going to have to log onto the on line security and ask Hans for a manual override code and who knows how long that could take with this attack going on!_

But what choice did I have? I contacted Hans and after five painfully long minutes I finally got the go ahead. I looked around me to make sure that there were no Strigoi lurking around the corner waiting to jump on me once I opened the door before I put in the last digit. I opened up the door...

And saw a sight that almost made me sick.

RPOV

I quickly sprang into action after hearing that. The fight that I had been waiting so long for was finally here. But before I could rush out and finally go head to head with Tasha, I had to make sure that Lissa was safe first.

I grabbed her hand and dragged her over into the safe room and made sure that we had a few Guardians inside and a few standing outside to warn us if anything happened before I dead bulleted the door closed. Only high ranking Guardians had the code and no one would betray that. We also changed the code regularly so that no one could be turned Strigoi and blab.

"Rose I don't want you to go back out there! You know that she's coming here for you! She probably has some kind of trap set up that you can't beat!" Lissa said crying as she threw her arms around me and held me as tightly as a Moroi could. I hugged her back reassuringly.

"Hey Liss it's going to be alright. I'm more than good enough to take that wanna be girlfriend on. In fact, I bet I could do it with one arm tied behind my back!" I said sounding as cocky as I could to make Lissa worry less. In reality, I was pretty sure that I could take Tasha on without a problem, but I wasn't going to go into this fight over confident. It was actually one of Dimitri's Zen life lessons that has managed to sink in over the years. _Never underestimate your opponent_. _Because it would always come and bite you on the ass when you least expected it. _Ok that last bit was mine but you get the idea.

"I know, but that doesn't make it any better," Lissa mumbled.

"Come on Liss, now you're just wounding my pride here," I said finally managing to make Lissa let go. "This is going to be a piece of cak-"

BOOM!

Suddenly the whole room shook and we all went flying! _What the hell was that?! _I thought as I was thrown through the air like a rag doll. I landed hard but didn't feel anything snap or pop so I didn't think that I was hurt too bad. I pulled myself up and felt around for my stake that I had dropped in the shock of the explosion. I tried to see through all of the dust that had been sent into the air. I don't know what caused this explosion but it was far too perfect timing for it to just be a coincidence. I had to find Lissa!

"Lissa!" I cried as I wiped my eyes and coughed. "Lissa!" I tripped over something and realized with horror that it was a body! I quickly turned them over and saw that it was a guardian that had been in here with us. And he was hurt but still alive...for now.

"Just hold on, help is coming," I said to him reassuringly and hoped that I hadn't just lied to a dying man as I got back up to go and look for Lissa.

"Lissa were are you?!" I cried out as I blinked some more, the dust was starting to settle and I was starting to be able to make out shapes.

"Lissa!"

"Rose!" I heard Lissa cry out sounding scared. I turned to where I heard her voice coming from relieved, she was ok.

Or at least that's what I thought until I turned around...

"Looking for someone?" said the cold undead voice of Tasha...surrounded by a bunch of her Strigoi minions. I took in the sight before me, shocked.

Tasha. Even though I had been expecting this, she was going too far! A sudden wave of anger came over me at the sight before me! That woman has done so much to me over the years but _this_! It crossed the line.

So far she's tried to take Dimitri away from me. Tried to frame me for murdering the Queen. Shot me in the heart! And lately she has been tormenting my friends and family while threatening the love of my life! And as if all of THAT wasn't enough, she wasn't only here to attack my home and loved ones, she was currently holding Lissa, my best friend and sister for over 15 years, by the throat. One wrong move and Lissa would be no more.

"Rose," Lissa chocked out, tears of fear streaming down her face. Tasha smiled eagerly as she tightened her grip on Lissa's throat a bit.

"We just keep meeting like this don't we Rose?" Tasha asked her voice kind and friendly, sounding like we were long lost friends that were finally catching up after too long apart.

"Let her go right now Tasha or I swear I will make you suffer before I stake you," I said gripping onto my stake as tightly as possible. Tasha just laughed, a cold and empty sound.

"Oh I think not Rose. You see with my faster reflexes and all, if I decided to suddenly and violently end Queen Lissa's life, there is no chance that you could possibly stop me before I rip through her throat. So you see I hold all of the cards," Tasha said smiling evilly. I wanted nothing more than to walk up to her and smack that smile right off of her face , but she was right. If I tried anything then Tasha could kill Lissa before I could even make it halfway across the room. So instead I talked.

"What do you want Tasha?" A stupid question I know, but I needed to buy myself some more time to figure out what to do and for help to hopefully arrive. And getting Tasha talking about herself should do the trick.

"What do I want? Well I thought that I made that quite clear in my tapes that I sent to you. You did get them right? Because I would have hated to have killed and turned all of those poor people only for you to miss out on it," Tasha said with fake concern in her voice.

I gritted my teeth and played along. "Yes I got them," I said throwing daggers at her with my eyes.

"Oh good. Then you should know that I'm here for one thing. And I think that you know what it is."

"The person that I care about most," I forced out through stiff lips. "Well you're out of luck because I have no idea where Dimitri is. So sorry to have made you come all this way for nothing," I said, a bit of my Rose Hathaway bravo coming out.

But my luck just can't seem to hold out. Because just then the door that had been sealed shut, slid open and in walked none other then Dimitri. He quickly took in the destroy room and the Guardians sprawled around it. He then quick looked around the room and stopped when his eyes landed on me. He looked both relieved and pained. Relieved that I was alive and pained because I must look a sight after what just happened. But he must have picked up the tension in the room because he didn't run over to ask me if I was ok. Instead he looked where I was and saw Tasha holding Lissa by the throat.

"Tasha," was all he said and his voice sounded broken. I guess that even though he knew that Tasha had turned Strigoi, it was something else entirely to see it with your own eyes.

"Well look who decided to finally join the party! How are you doing Dimka?" Tasha asked as if nothing bad had ever happened between them.

"I've been better," was all he said as he cast me a side glance to make sure that I was ok. I had no idea how I looked after getting throne halfway across the room but it couldn't have been pretty.

"Well that's no good. Anything I can do to help?" Tasha asked with fake concern in her voice.

"You can surrender right now and go back to prison and stop harassing Rose and her family," Dimitri said in a cold voice, like he was calculating something in his mind.

"Sorry, no can do Dimka. I'm on a very strict time schedule and sadly I can't stay to chat. I'm here for a reason and you know what."

And that was when I exploded.

"Yeah, Dimitri, I get the picture! When are you going to get over yourself enough to realize that he chose me over you! And news flash, that's not going to change any time soon! And no amount of plotting or scheming or whatever the hell this new thing you're trying out now is, will ever be enough for Dimitri to change his mind and come crawling back to you! So why don't you go and chew on a stick of garlic bread while sun bathing and get the hell out of our life!"

Wow! I have no idea where that came from but man it felt good. Tasha didn't look happy about my outburst at all. But just at that moment a bunch of Guardians came swarming in led by Hans.

But much like Dimitri had, once he saw that Tasha had Lissa by the throat he stopped in his tracks.

"And here comes the cavalry to save your sorry asses! But sadly it's not going to change anything," Tasha said in a cheery voice as her Strigoi minions spread out and flanked all of the Guardians. No one knew quite what to do. Attack, and the queen might get killed. Didn't attack, and the queen might still get killed and it could be all your fault. Hans was the first one to speak up.

"Tasha it's clear that you came here seeking revenge, but killing the Queen isn't going to accomplish anything. If you release her then we can negotiate what you want. Even allow you visiting rights for you and Guardian Belikov," Hans said glancing my way to make sure that I didn't speak up and ruin his rescue attempt.

I didn't like that last bit at all, but if it meant saving Lissa's life then I guess that I could live with Dimitri spending some time with this crazy bitch.

"Oh but you misunderstand me Guardian Croft. While I certainly have plans for myself and Dimka in the future, I didn't come here for him. He'll be mine soon enough. But no, I came here for the person that you care about the most," Tasha said looking me in the eye. And I froze.

We all thought that when Tasha said that that she meant Dimitri. But who was the one other person that I cared enough about and would be willing to give my life for in a heartbeat besides Dimitri?

Lissa. And right now she had her literally in the palm of her hand.

Tasha saw the realization on my face and smiled in triumph. "That's right Rose. I've come here to take your little best friend away from you. You will forever been known as the Guardian that got the Queen killed. And this time it will actually be true," she said smiling, a mix of sweetness and triumph.

No one knew what to do again. Tasha was going to kill Lissa if someone didn't stop her, but if someone tried then she might just kill her anyway. What to do what to do?

"But! There is another option," Tasha said still smiling.

"And what's that?" Hans asked desperate to jump on anything that might save Lissa's life.

"An exchange. Queen Lissa's life...for Rose's."

DPOV

After hearing muffled voices for over five minutes as I waited for Hans to finally send over the door deactivation codes, I was sure that at least some people on the other side of the door were alive and had survived whatever made that explosion. I just prayed that one of them was my Roza.

As soon as I got the code, I punched it into the computer and all but ran into the room, ducking a bit due to my hight and impatience...and saw Guardian bodies sprawled everywhere! Dread filled me and I quickly looked and made sure that my Roza wasn't one of them and I breathed out a sigh of relief when saw her standing on the other side of the room. She looked like she had just been through a war zone, but alive. And she didn't look happy to see me. In fact, she almost looked like she wished that I wasn't here at all. Before I could figure out what was up with that, I checked the rest of the room for danger... when I saw why Rose looked so upset.

Because there in the center of the room stood Tasha. Holding Lissa by the throat.

Tasha," I whispered, my voice sounded broken and not like me at all. I mean I knew that this moment was coming. And that I would have to see my old friend as the monster that she chose to turn herself into. But there was knowing that something was going to happen and having it actually happen. Overall, the sight just made me feel sad and miss the good person that Tasha used to be.

"Well look who decided to finally join the party! How are you doing Dimka?" Tasha asked as if nothing was out of the ordinarily and that she wasn't holding the queen of our entire race hostage.

"I've been better," I managed to get out. I looked over at Roza again to make sure that she was ok. Her clothes were ripped in places and she was bleeding from several small cuts across her body. But luckily nome of them looked life threatening.

"Well that's no good. Anything I can do to help?" Tasha asked with fake concern in her voice. I decided to take the Rose approach and tell her exactly what she could do.

"Yes. You can surrender right now go back to prison and stop harassing Rose and her family," I said, trying to figure out how to salvage this situation before the Strigoi that Tasha brought with her went on the offensive.

"Sorry, no can do Dimka. I'm on a very strict time schedule and sadly I can't stay to chat. I'm here for a reason and you know that."

And that was when Rose reached her breaking point... again.

"Yeah Dimitri I get the picture! When are you going to get over yourself enough to realize that he chose me over you! And news flash, that's not going to change any time soon! And no amount of plotting or scheming or whatever the hell this new thing you're trying out now is, will ever be enough for Dimitri to change his mind and come crawling back to you! So why don't you go and chew in a stick of garlic bread while sun bathing and get the hell out of our life!"

Yep. That was my fiancée. Bright, passionate and never one to keep her mouth shut, even when she should. One thing was for sure, life would never be boring or dull with her around.

And just as Tasha was about to come back at Rose...possibly physically...Hans came in with a bunch of guardians on his tail. Finally! Back up had arrived!

Hans looked over the room and saw that Tasha had Lissa and froze. The guardian hand book had prepared us for hostage situations. But it never prepared you for the hostage being the queen herself.

"And here comes the cavalry to save your sorry asses! But sadly it's not going to change anything."

Tasha said with a big smile as the Strigoi that she brought with her ran around the room and surrounded all of the guardians. Everyone was just waiting for some thing to happen, nun of them wanting to make the first move. Finally Hans stepped up and started things off.

"Tasha it's clear that you came here seeking revenge, but killing the queen isn't going to accomplish anything. If you realise her then we can negotiate what you want. Evan allow visting rights for you and guardian Belikov." Hans said giving Rose a pointed look. I didn't much like the idea ether, but I would certainly swallow my pried and go along with this if that's what it took to get Lissa away from Tasha.

"Oh but you miss understand me guardian Croft. While I certainly have plans for myself and Dimka in the future, I didn't come here for him. He'll be mine soon enough. But no, I came here for the person thet you care about the most. " Tasha aid looking at Rose with meaning in her eyes.

But what for? Tasha was here for me wasn't she? So why was she trying to play heard to get? Was this all just some part of her sick twisted game? I mean what else could she possibly...

My train of thought stopped there. Or more like a wrecking ball just smashed it off of the tracks! Because there was one more person in the world that Rose cares about just as much as me. And Tasha had her in her grasp.

Tasha smiled and continued "That's right Rose. I've come here to take your little best friend away from you. You will forever been known at the guardian that got the queen killed. And this time it will actually be true." She said smiling. A mix of sweetly and curly. Wired.

I was seizing up my options. If I attacked then Tasha might not hurt Lissa because no matter what she said I knew that I was Tasha's mane target. And if I moved in I might just cores enough of a distraction so that some of the other guardians can get in and save Lissa. I was just about to do that when Tasha shattered the silence.

"But! There is another option." Tasha said still smiling.

"And what's that?" Hans asked desperate to jump on anything that might save Lissa's life.

"An exchanged. Queen Lissa's life...for Roses."

.

.  
Silence. No one in the room spoke; not knowing what to say. But inside my head, I was screaming.

I may be one of the best guardians that Court has ever had, and some might think that I was impervious to fear and panic. Well they couldn't have been more wrong right now because I was this close to loosing it!

No. No no no not this again! Don't take away my Roza again! This couldn't be happening! This just couldn't be happening again! Not my Roza!

Why did this keep happening? Why couldn't Rose and I just be happy together? Why did something or someone always have to try and come between us. Why couldn't Tasha just accept that I didn't want to be with her and just let me be happy? If she really loved me then she should be willing to let me go just like Rose had at the ski lodge! But no. Instead she had to go against everything that she had ever known and turn Strigoi all in an attempt to get me.

"I'll do it." I heard Rose say almost immediately. Her voice strong and fearless.

I looked over at Rose pleadingly. She was silent, but she was looking at me with love and sorrow in her eyes. Like she was apologizing and saying good bye all at once. Which she was. I was silently begging her not to do this but I knew she would. Tasha just let out a little chuckle.

"Of course you will. It's what you Dhampirs do."

She was right. Of course Rose would give up her life to save Lissa's. It was literally what she was born to do. Save the lives of the Moroi. And Lissa was by far the most important Moroi in Roses life.

I racked my brain, desperate to think of anything that could make this situation better, anything that would mean that my Roza stayed safe. And then it hit me.

"Take me!" I shouted out and stepped forward so that I was in front of all of the other Guardians and leveled with Rose. Rose cast me angry and scared look. She didn't want me to go, well tough luck. Because there was no way that I was going to sit back and watch as Tasha exchanged her life for Lissa's.

"Dimitri," Hans said not wanting me to interfere but also not wanting to let Rose get taken.

"No way! I'm the one you came here for so let's just get this over with," Rose said trying to get Tasha's attention.

"No Rose! Please I'm not worth it!" Lissa said. And was promptly ignored.

"It's me you want, well here I am!" I said and held out my hands wide inviting her to hit me or kiss me or whatever it was she wanted in her twisted mind.

"Oh you're so right Dimka. And I will have you, but all in good time. Right now it's Rose I'm after," she said and looked at Rose again with hatred. I held my stake tight and got into a combat pose ready to fight. There was no way I was just going to sit back and watch Tasha kill my Roza.

"Let Lissa go and you can have me. Kill me right here if that's what you want. Just let her go," Rose said sounding strong but also a bit sad. I knew why, she didn't want to leave me.

"No please! Take me! Just don't hurt Rose," I all but begged.

"Oh don't worry Dimka. I'm not going to hurt Rose," Tasha said in a sickly sweet voice. "I'm just going to take her with me and lock her up for now. So that she knows what it's like to have your freedom taken away from you. To be trapped like an animal." As she talked Tasha's voice got darker and darker and I had to resist the urge to stand in front of Rose protectively. Instead, I just moved so that I was just standing a bit closer to her.

"So it's you or the Queen. Take your pick," Tasha said in a sweet voice again.

"I'll come," Rose said and I looked at her pleadingly one more time. But it was useless. I knew that nothing I did or said could change her mind.

"Let Lissa go first and I'll come with you," Rose said and I got ready to charge Tasha as soon as she let Lissa go. But Tasha just laughed.

"You think that I'm going to fall for that? No. You come up here and I let go of the Queen at the same time that my Strigoi grab onto you. That way everyone go's home happy," Tasha said smiling.

"Fine," Rose said before walking over to me to take my face in her hands.

"What are you doing?" Tasha demanded, seeing that Rose wasn't walking over to her.

"I'm saying goodbye!" Rose snarled back as she reached me.

"I'm sorry," Rose said her voice a soft whisper. Taking my face in her hands. Pain edges in every word. "But I can't let Lissa get hurt. They come first," she said her eyes looking deeply into mine.

"Please don't do this Roza. We can find another way," I begged as I held onto her tightly.

"You know that that's not possible," Rose said in a sad voice. She started playing with my hair. "I promise that I won't stop fighting until I escape and find a way back to you. But you need to stay strong for me ok? Fight for Lissa, you're her Guardian now."

"Roza," I whispered unsure what to say. But Rose did. She pulled my head down and gave me a wild and passionate kiss, showing me for what I hoped wasn't the last time how much she loved me. She pulled back slightly and looked deep into my eyes.

"I love you," Rose whispered again, and then she was gone. She turned and walked over to Tasha and I watched helplessly as the Strigoi minions, at the speed of light, let go of Lissa and grab onto Rose. Tasha walked over and grabbed Rose roughly by the arm and smiled cruelly before putting on a big smile and looking back at me.

"Don't worry Dimka, you will see me again soon. Enjoy the life you have now, because soon it's all going to change."

And with that, the woman that I loved more than my own life and her captors all ran out of the hole that the explosion created in the wall in the first place and were gone from my life.  
**  
Oh my so much drama! **

**What is Tasha going to do with Rose? **

**Will Dimitri be able to save Rose before it's to late? **

**And what crazy idea am I going to think of next? **

**Well review and you will find out sooner! I really do update faster if I get lots of reviews because then I fell guilty for not updating! So you see reviewing (multiple times if possible for those of you on phones) is really the best thing that you can do the get me to update faster!:)**


	9. Chapter 9

**No funny reviews this tine so I'm afraid that your all just going to have to settle for the usual Disclaimer: so here it is...**

**Good wasn't it? ;)**

_She pulled back slightly and looked deep into my eyes. _

_"I love you," Rose whispered again, and then she was gone. She turned and walked over to Tasha and I watched helplessly as the Strigoi minions, at the speed of light, let go of Lissa and grabbed onto Rose. Tasha walked over and grabbed Rose roughly by the arm and smiled cruelly before putting one a big smile and looking back at me. _

_"Don't worry Dimka, you will see me again soon. Enjoy the life you have now, because soon it's all going to change." _

_And with that the woman that I loved more than my own life and her captors all ran out of the hole that the explosion created in the wall in the first place and were gone from my life. _

RPOV

_I really needed to get a frequent kidnappers card if this stuff kept happening to me _I thought bluntly as I was picked up and pulled away by Dimitri's jealous ex and her flunkeys. The amount of times that I have gotten kidnapped, abducted and held hostage by Strigoi was just getting plain ridiculous! I mean last time I literally wiped out their entire race for crying out loud! What more did I have to do to get the undead creeps out of my life?!

But before I could voice my question, very sarcastically or course, I felt a sharp pain to my head and suddenly everything went dark.

DPOV

My feet were moving before I even knew where I was going. The instant that I saw my Roza being dragged from the room, my mind and body kicked into overdrive and I could only process one thought and one though alone.

_Get my Roza back. _

"Belikov freeze!" the authoritative voice of Hans barked out and my body instinctively followed the order and froze.

"Don't be a fool. If you go after her right now some of the young Strigoi will most likely loose control and ambush you in the small space. Or more likely Tasha will just decide to take you right now instead of waiting like she has planned. What we need to do right now is secure Court and make sure that whatever way Tasha managed to make it in here can't be used again," Hans said harshly, then he walked up to me and started talking more gently.

"We need to think of all of the lives of the people in Court right now, not just Guardian Hathaway's. I won't abandon her, I promise. But it's clear from what Tasha said that she wants to keep Rose alive for a while so we have time. Right now we need to make sure that the Queen is safe or Rose just gave herself up for nothing."

Every cell in my body was crying out at me to abandon my post and disobey orders and just run after Rose and kill every last Strigoi that got in my way until she was safe in my arms again. But Hans was right. If I wanted to save Rose then I had a better chance of doing it when I could go in prepared.

Ughhh I was getting the worst case of déjà vu. The only consolation here was that there was no way that Rose could be turned into a Strigoi again. But that didn't mean that she was by any means safe.

I realized that I hadn't said anything and that Hans was waiting for my acknowledgement.

"Yes sir," I forced out through stiff lips and got a nod from Hans.

"I want you to look after the Queen. She's closest to you after Rose, and right now she's a mess," Hans said moving his head to the side indicating Lissa. Who I just noticed was lying crumpled on the floor crying her eyes out and saying, "Rose, oh Rose I'm so sorry."

I walked over and slid down next to her, Hans by my side.

"Your Highness, this area is no longer safe for you, I request that you allow Guardian Belikov to escort you back to your chambers," Hans said trying to keep his cool after almost loosing the Queen to Strigoi...again.

I put on my Guardian mask so Lissa couldn't tell how torn up I was and tried to comfort her for Rose's sake. "We will get Rose back don't worry Lissa," I said gently, as I pulled her up a bit and looked her in the eyes. And then I put in a fake smile and said. "After all, we've done it before." But the joke doesn't cheer her up anymore than it did me.

"We have to save her Dimitri! We have to!" And then she starts crying again. I pull her into my arms and give her a comforting hug while at the same time seeking comfort of my own. I get a few surprised looks from some of the other guardians in the room, but for the most part they are running around trying to secure a room with a giant hole in it. I noticed Hans walking away, having better things to be doing right now then comforting Lissa.

"Sssshhhh. We will, I promise," I said gently comforting her as I knew Rose would. And it was a promise that I was determined to keep. I gently picked her up in my arms and walked her out of the safe room...well the former safe room, and back to her chamber that was down the hall.

I wanted more than anything to go back and join the other guardians in searching for clues that would help find my Roza, but right now Lissa needed me, and until I could actually do something, I had to just sit here for a while holding a crying Lissa. It's not that I minded the job or would have trusted any of the other guardians to do it for that matter, it's just that I was best at comforting Rose, where this really was more of a job for- I froze. It wasn't until this moment that I thought of something that really should have occurred to me earlier.

"Where's Christian?" I asked slightly panicked as I realized that this was the first time that I had thought of him since the attack started and that I just failed big time at being a Guardian.

"He went out of Court today with a bunch of guardians for something to do with the Council about offensive magic," Lissa sniffled out.

"Why wasn't I notified? I am his Guardian!" I asked slightly offended that I hadn't been told where my charge was. The last thing I needed right now was a repeat of what happened to Ivan.

"With you under the spotlight after Tasha's last tape, Hans assigned someone else to go with him. He didn't want you outside of Court," Lissa said almost getting her voice back under control for now. I wondered how long that would last for? My own self-control was only holding for as long as it took me to find the nearest punchable object.

I just shook my head a bit. It didn't matter where Christian was right now as long as he was safe. I wish that the same could be said about my Roza...

RPOV

I work up with my head pounding and my throat dry. I opened my eyes and looked around my room...or should I say my cell. A honest to goodness cell. With bars, and cement floors and a little bunk with a thin mattress and all of the other fun things that you might find in a prison cell. And then I looked down at what I was wearing.

Before I had been taken, I had been wearing standard Guardian attire. Sort of casual combat ready clothes which were made up of a white long sleeved shirt with a black vest and dress pants that were easy to move and fight in. But now...yep you guessed it. I was wearing a standard criminals orange jumpsuit. Complete with serial numbers on the front and back.

"Well well well, not so sleeping beauty awakes. Did you have a nice nap?" a bitchy voice asked and I looked up unsurprised to see Tasha standing on the other side of the bars with a bitchy smile planted on her face.

"Well it's clear that you weren't using your beauty sleep so I figured that I could have it," I said in an equally bitchy voice as I got up off of the ground that I had been thrown on while passed out and looked Tasha in the eyes. Now that she didn't have any of my loved ones around for her to threaten, I didn't care about holding back what I thought. It felt good.

Tasha just threw me a filthy look. "You can talk tough now, but let's just see how much fight you still have in you after a few months of isolation and torture with only bread and water," she said finishing with a big grin.

"What? You're actually going to stick to your word and keep me prisoner? I thought you had bigger plans than that." I probably shouldn't of been antagonizing her like this, especially since I did want to make it out of here and back into Dimitri's arms, but I also wanted to find out what her long term plan was so that I could see how much time I could buy before my big break. I would probably only get one chance at it so I wanted to time it right.

"Oh yes." A cold smile accompanied those words. "You see now that I'm immortal I have the gift of time, and with that comes patience. So I'm going to exercise that gift, by torturing you as slowly and as painfully as I can imagine. But all in good time. I intend to enjoy slowly driving you crazy.

Another smile, this one with so much ice in it, I wanted to breathe out a big breath to see if it fogged up in front of me.

"Really? That's your big plan? It doesn't seem so great," I said trying to bluff my way through this. In reality, it sounded terrifying. I had been thrown into a jail cell once when I had been accused of murdering the queen and I hadn't held up well. And that had been with a constant stream of visitors. How was I going to handle isolation?

"It may seem small now, but starting with your mind, it will truly be the most rewarding torture of all. Once I break you slowly and completely then you will be so out of it that even if you do somehow make your way back to Dimka, you will be so damaged that he won't even be able to look at you. And once I get tired of breaking your mind. I'll break your body, and I will smile as you scream and I will record it and make sure that Dimka and your little queen hear it for themselves. That is my ultimate revenge; to watch you slowly rot away in a cell as I had for so long." A smile so cold that not even a Strigoi should have been able to do it appeared on her face but mixed with some kind of sick joy that made me want to throw up.

"So tell me Rose, are you scared now?" she asked leaning in closer and lowering her voice."Because you should be."

I didn't answer. I couldn't. I had been held captive, tortured, and even turned by Strigoi in the past. But never have I met one that wanted to do such deep mentally and bodily harm to me. And for the first time in so long, I was actually scared.

DPOV

After I don't know how long, Christian finally returned and ran to Lissa's side, I was allowed to go back to the broken safe room with all of the other Guardians on the case and look for anything that might help us either find where Tasha is hiding or find out something that would help us stop them. I was putting on a good act of keeping my cool in front of Lissa, but inside I was a raging volcano of anger. All I needed was somewhere or someone to aim it at and I was likely to explode. So much for my famous self control.

I walked right up to where the big hole had been made and looked inside expecting to find some kind of dirt tunnel that they must have spent weeks digging to get to this room.

But instead I saw a whole labyrinth of brick tunnels that lead in all number of directions. How could this have existed? Guardian headquarters were given detailed blue prints of the entire palace to make sure that something like this didn't happen. What were these tunnels even doing down here in the first place?

"This palace was built hundreds of years ago," Hans said coming up to stand beside me and answering my unasked question. "Back then, escape tunnels were the best way to evacuate the monarch if an invasion got too out of hand. But a few generations back, it was decided that the tunnels were considered more of a danger and could help aid surprise attacks like this one than to be used as an escape route. So they were ordered to be blocked up and sealed and never to be used again. Tasha and her followers must have been hard at work to get in through this way," Hans said the last but quietly almost to himself.

"Do we have any leads?" I asked in a dead voice. There was no light or life in me with out Roza by my side. So I wasn't going to waste any energy pretending that there was until I had her back in my arms.

"Nothing yet. But Guardian Hathaway's tracking chip in her communicator was transmitting for a while before it was found and deactivated, so we have a general location on where they were headed. It's not much but it's a start."

I nodded. "Last time something like this happened it was finding the spy that helped led us to Rose. So how about we talk to the last spy and see what he has to say?" I said casting a side look to see Hans nod in agreement.

"I'll make the call."

Ten minutes later, and with another wave of déjà vu, Hans and I were sitting in an interrogation room looking across at my two least favorite people, the people that made Rose's abduction possible last time.

Jesse and Ralf.

Both of which were trying to act cool and calm and failing miserably, especially Ralf.

"You both know why we're here so why don't we just cut to the chase. Do you know anything about Tasha's attack? Any idea how she found out about the underground tunnels? Her new spy perhaps?" Hans asked in a cold voice while I just death glared both of them, waiting for the first one to snap.

Jesse spoke up first. With a sneer he said, "What makes you think that we know anything about her? We were working for that Ivan guy."

"Because you were all in the same prison block together. You may have decided to share some ideas over orange juice and gruel," Hans said not missing a beat.

"Well if we did then why would we help you? What's in it for us? We're still going to be stuck in a cell for the rest of our lives no matter what," he said throwing me a filthy look.

"That may be so. But we can cut you a better deal this time, get you some extra privileges. Maybe even a day pass for your birthdays. Now how does that sound?" Hans asked sounding deadly serious and scary, but with a slight gentleness about it. Like he was playing both good cop and bad cop.

I thought that the offer was to good for them, but Jesse apparently thought different.

"What is that it?" Jesse all but laughed. "I'm a Royal! I shouldn't have been thrown in here at all! And I'm not settling for anything less then at least house arrest!" he said with a cocky smile like he had already won.

"And to pick out our own feeders! I'm sick of the old and retired ones that you keep giving to us! We're better than regular prisoners and deserved to be treated as such," Ralf chimed in speaking for the first time and always following Jesse's lead.

I wanted to stand up and tell... and possibly, show them, exactly what they could do with their demands when Hans let out a low chuckle.

"Between the two of you, you are responsible for conspiring with Strigoi, orchestrating not one but two separate attacks on Court, one of which involved direct danger to the Queen, attempting and planning to actually turn Strigoi, accessory to kidnapping, and with holding information and high treason! You're lucky that I even managed to get the death penalty off the table at all! And that was only because you are Royal. So I wouldn't go getting on my high horse just yet," Hans said looking them in the eyes and showing them who was in charge here.

"So, here's what's going to happen, you're both going to tell me everything that you can about anything you know about Tasha and her plans, and I will see what privileges that I can get the Queen to grant you. That is if she didn't just decide to kill you both for getting her best friend abducted in the first place. And if that isn't enough incentive..., well I might just decide to switch off the security cameras and leave you alone with Guardian Belikov for a little...chat. Now which would you prefer?" Hans said with an "_I win_" look that I think he stole from Rose.

Both Jesse and Ralf to one look at the murderous rage on my face and gulped.

"Fine! We'll cooperate!" Jesse backed out while Ralf just looked like he wanted to either throw up or wet himself. Possibly both.

"Do you know how Tasha found out about the tunnels?" Hans asked not wasting any time.

"Tunnels? That actually worked?" Ralf blurted out in disbelief. And I swear I saw Jesse shoot him a look of anger at breaking his cool so fast.

"What do you know?" I growled and Ralf cowered.

"N..n..not..much. J...just that sh...she was planning to use them in the first place to sneak into the Queen's chambers and kill her, but then she found out that they had been blocked and found another way," Really stuttered. No wonder he clung to Jesse so much. The man was spineless.

"What were her plans after she broke out of jail and started tormenting Guardian Hathaway?" Hans said making notes.

"She was pretty tight liked about that," Jesse said shrugging casually, like he didn't much care about the answer. "She didn't want us to blab like we are right now."

"Do you know where she might set up a camp or base of operations? Anywhere that she might go? Even if it's temporary?"

"Nope." That cocky smile again. I really wanted to wipe it off of his face right now. Painfully. But Hans wasn't fazed.

"Do you know what Tasha's plans are for Guardian Hathaway?"

"Pain."

"Do you know when Tasha plans to make another attack of Court?"

"When you're least expecting it."

"Do you understand the concept of cooperation? Because you can forget any special treatment if you don't start answering these questions better," Hans said with a growl in his voice.

"I am answering them! I just don't know much like I said," Jesse said defiantly.

"Well then least try this again. What do you think she will do?" Hans asked not happy that Jesse was evading the questions like that. Jesse just rolled his eyes like he was annoyed.

"Like I said, she didn't talk much about it! But if I had to guess, I'd say it's something to do with taking over the world. The woman had a major goddess complexes," he said and then looked at me. "She's also got a hard on for you like you wouldn't believe. And would do just about anything to get you out of Rose's arms and into hers." Then he actually smiled a sick smile.

"Man you must have screwed her brains out real good to get her to go to all of this trouble just for another round."

I had to clench my fist to keep from punching him. I had always disliked Jesse, and after he teamed up with the Strigoi, I hated him. But now I literally wanted to beat him to a pulp. But Jesse was too thick to pick up on the vibes of the room and how angry he was making me and kept talking.

"Is that why Rose went through so much trouble to get you back after you turned Strigoi?" Another smile that I was this close to wiping off of his face.

"Man if you give it to girls that good then why are you trying so hard to get Rose back for? One girl is as good as another. Just find a hot pice of ass and make her your sex slave like you did with Rose and Tasha..."

I was going to kill him! I really was if he didn't shut his mouth this instant!

"And why do you want Rose so bad anyway? I mean she's loud and annoying and who knows how many guys that that little blood whore made it through screwing on the Academy staff to get better grades before she finally got to you-"

He never got to finish that sentence. Because he had my fist firmly imprinted in his face. He flew across the small room and smashed against the wall. Ralf just sat there stunned looking like a scared animal.

"How dare you say that about Rose! She is not a blood whore!" I punched him again while Hans tried to get control of me. But I don't think that he was really trying all that hard.

"Rose is an amazing woman that any man would be lucky to have by his side! And she would never sleep with someone just to get better grades! Now you tell us everything that you know about Tasha and her plans this instant or I swear I'm going to cut you all over, string you up by a tree outside of Court and the wards and hand a huge sign around your neck that says "free samples" if you don't start co- operating right now!" I shouted at him, resisting the urge to walk over and punch him again. As it was, Hans put and hand on my shoulder as a warning not to lose it... again.

"Alright Jesse you had that one coming. Now pull yourself up off the floor, act like a man and stop treating this like you got called into the principals office for indecent exposure again."

Jesse did so, and it was hard to tell with his bloody nose and all, but I think he blushed. I guess that Hans must have looked in his school file as well.

"Fine."

"Let start this again, do you know where Tasha might set up a camp or base of operations?"

"She would always go on a lot about how her plan for getting rid of the Queen and framing Rose was so perfect that half the time we couldn't get her to shut up. But she didn't mention anything about her new plan. I didn't even know that she was cooking it up or I would probably have asked to join. Better then sitting in that cramped cell," Jesse said bitterly, probably afraid that I would punch him again.

"Do you know when Tasha is next planning another attack at Court?"

"She never even said anything about her first."

"Do you know what Tasha's plans are for Guardian Hathaway?"

"Other then lots of pain like I said? No not really. She did go in to a lot of detail about what she would do if she ever got her hands on Rose again and it never ended pretty," Jesse said and looked over at me again.

"My advice is find her and find her fast. Becaue Tasha has dreamed about the day where she could get her hands on Rose for the past three years. And she's had plenty of time to think of fun ways to do it."

The rest of the interrogation passed in a blur and before I knew it, I was back at my apartment after Hans had told me to "Go cool off and get some sleep" but I had no idea how he expected me to cool off and get and sleep when I was surrounded by things that reminded me of my Roza! And what Jesse said was still derailing my mind. We needed to act fast to save her! But where did we start?

A knock at my door brought me out of my thoughts. I quickly got up to answer it in case it was someone with news about my Roza. But when I answered the door it was Lissa. Red eyed and tried, but she still managed to look regal.

"What do you know?" I asked not bothering with any of the normal pleasantries or formalities when Lissa came over. She may be the Queen, but we were well past the time where that changed things between us.

"It was what Hans suspected. Tasha up used her Strigoi to dig through the tunnels until she got to the safe room where she knew Rose and I would be because she set off the alarm. She then used TNT to blast through the final wall to both break it and cause a distraction while she went after me to use as a bargaining chip," Lissa said in a low and sad voice. Christian was by her side, as he had been since the attack, and put his arms around her shoulders for comfort.

"Hans has set up a meeting in the morning to talk strategy and rescue plans," Lissa continued. I didn't say anything. I couldn't. It was happening agin! It was all happening again!

"We will see you there," Christian said as he led Lissa back to their room. I closed the door after them and just stood there. Stunned.

This was just ridiculous! It was like history was literally repeating itself. Strigoi attack Court, Rose gats taken, I end up in an interrogation room with Jesse threatening his life if he didn't tell me what I want to know, and now Lissa and Christian rock up at my door and me tell me that Hans wants to have a meeting to discuss rescue plans!

That wasn't good enough! My Roza was in danger. Again! And Hans wanted to discuss it at a meeting!

Well damned if I was going to let the rest of this story repeat itself like this! I got up and started stuffing clothes and supplies into a duffle bag. Last time we wasted all of our time on planning and strategy to get Rose back only to arrive too late. Well not this time! Screw Hans and his plans to go in with a clear head and back up. It don't pay off last time with Ivan, and with Tasha being in charge and her hatred of Rose, it sure wasn't going to work this time. I had to fight to stop myself from thinking of all of the horrible things that Tasha could be doing to Rose right now and stuffed more things into my bag. I made sure to pack food, money and extra stakes so that when I found Rose, and I would, she could fight by my side. Also in case something happened to mine, I didn't want to fight a Strigoi bare handed.

Not bothering to tell anyone or even leave a note, I grabbed my bag with all of my supplies and walked out of my door. I was going to go out on my own and follow Tasha's trail. I would hunt her down and I would find my Roza. And then we would pick things up right where we left them off and get married and start out our new life together. No matter what.

**Well well well, just when you think it's safe to go back in to my story's...**

**sorry if this is really ****similar**** to my first story, but it's going to get shaken up real so I promise...**

**I mean now that Dimitri is off on his own! Do you think he will find Rose before Tasha is threw with her? **

**And what a dark side to Tasha! Who would have thought she had it in her hu? A show of hands? **

**Well your all just going to have to wait until my next update for more. But if you review it will happen sooner hint hint;)**

**Please! I'm almost to 100 reviews! And it could be YOU who gets me there!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hay guys and dolls! Sorry for the long wait but I was rocking out at Easterfest!**

**So this chapter goes out to ALex for:** I am the 100th reviewer! kneel in front of the power of reviews!

**Thank you ;) insert Disclaimer here**

_Not bothering to tell anyone or even leave a note, I grabbed my bag with all of my supplies and walked out of my door. I was going to go out on my own and follow Tasha's trail. I would hunt her down and I would find my Roza. And then we would pick things up right where we left them off and get married and start out our new life together. No matter what._

RPOV

_Ok...well my future wasn't looking too bright, _I thought after Tasha left me for what I assumed was the first day of my isolation in this personalised hell hole. Tasha must have really snapped after spending all of that time in jail because the creepy stuff that she had planned for me was something straight out of the psych ward. My first instinct was to shout at Tasha and demand that she come back here right now so we can quit playing this silly game and just fight to the death already. But I knew that that would do me no good. Tasha was crazy and in her mind, this was what I deserved and she wasn't going to cut her 'fun' short for any reason.

Isolation was going to be tough on me, but one good thing came of it. If I was alone and without a constant guard then I would be able to escape easier and maybe get a head start before someone noticed that I was gone...that is _if_ I could find a way out of here and _if_ I wasn't being watched right now. Which considering Tasha's recent history with recording things, I probably was.

But even Strigoi got bored right? So if I did have people watching me then they might give it up after a few days of boredom. I just had to act like being alone was really getting to me for a few days and act out and shout death threats and stuff like that and then go all quiet and not move from my bed and thay would get bored watching me and forget all about how I was supposed to be a threat! Then I would have my chance to escape.

I just hoped that I could figure out something soon, because I knew for a fact that I wasn't going to last long cooped up in here.

Lissa's POV

"What do you mean he's gone?" I asked in shock. We were all gathered in my meeting room like we had last time Rose got kidnapped, she really does do that a lot, (damn, déjà vu!) when we noticed that Dimitri hadn't showed up yet, and he was always one for punctuality. So I sent Hans to go and fetch him, and now he was back here standing in front of me with a yet another bomb shell to drop on us all. Dimitri was gone. I personally was having a hard time believing it. Dimitri was just about the most by the book Guardian that you could get! He wouldn't decide to chuck a Rose and run off on us like that would he?

"I'm sorry your Majesty, but it's true," Hans said in his normal polite tone he used when addressing me, but today it sounded edged with sadness.

"That's insane he wouldn't just up and leave like that!" I heard Christian's exclaim, who was as shocked as I was at hearing the news. And Hans didn't look any happier about saying it a second time either.

"I'm afraid that that's exactly what has happened. I went to his room to get him and found he wasn't there so I put out a search through the Guardian channels and they all came up empty. I then granted them permission to break into his room and search for him. His Guardian duffle bag was gone, as well as a number of items from his home that he would take if he was going on a long trip. I'm afraid that he's decided to hunt down Tasha on his own and attempt to rescue Guardian Hathaway," Hans said in a measured tone. But then added in a more casual.

"To be honest, I'm not all that surprised. After all it did take us quite awhile to track her down the last time that something like this happened and we were already too late. I'm afraid that it was just too much too soon and Guardian Belikov is striking out."

"Oh Dimitri." I whispered. My heart ached for him along with mine, I knew that he was hurting a lot right now, but running off on his own really wasn't going to solve anything.

"Well at least he's out there doing something," Abe said in a deep and deadly voice that I'm pretty sure he usually saved for his enemies. He was sitting down with his broken arm, slightly elevated, next to Janine, who had arrived after the attack and looked every bit as murderous as Abe. "He's the best Guardian you have and he will be able to move much faster alone instead of in a group. And he's got far more ridding on getting Rose back than most of the other Guardians so I say good on him," Abe said crossing his arms across his chest (or the best he could with one of them being broken)and daring anyone to disagree with him with his eyes.

"Well what I want to know is how could he have just walked right out of Court like that! I mean didn't you tell all of your Guardians that Dimitri was supposed to be confined to Court or something?" Christian yelled, starting to lose it now. After all, Dimitri was his Guardian, they must have grown close over time.

"Yes I did. But Guardian Belikov knew the lay out of the land, the guardians on duty, their shifts and themselves. It wouldn't be hard for a man like him at all to pinpoint the perfect spot in the perimeter and the Guardian guarding it to slip threw a hole undetected. He just knew too much. I mean he helped me make that security patten, I'm sure that he could find a small weakness to skip through if he really wanted. And we all know he did."

"Or maybe your security here just isn't all that good!" Janine said angrily. "After all it's not like this is the first time that anything like this has happened! My daughter broke out of school and managed to survive two years on her own guarding her best friend when she was only 15! And got through it in one piece. But once she comes to Court she suddenly becomes a prized piece to collect!"

I could well understand where she was coming from. I mean this was the second time that her daughter was kidnapped from Court (with it's supposedly impenetrable security) in a short amount of time. I'd be unhappy too.

"So tell me Head Guardian Croft, how were the Strigoi able to get through Courts defences this time?" Janine asked standing up putting her hands on her hips in a very Rose like kind of way.

Hans let out a little nervous cough but his voice was steady when he answered. "It appears that if the Strigoi can dig a tunnel deep enough under the wards to get past the perimeter when the wards are in place, they lose their effect once they surface. It's actually the first time in history that that's ever happened so we will be able to plan for that now."

Janine still looked like she wanted to kick Hans somewhere that Rose would have approved of but she sat back down apparently satisfied with the answer.

"I would say that I want your best man out there searching for him, but that's going to be a waste of recourses isn't it?" I asked trying to defuse the tension. Hans just nodded.

"Yes, the fact is that Guardian Belikov is just too good at his job for us to find right now with everything else going on. Not to mention that he is quite capable of looking after himself. Guardian Hathaway is the one in immediate danger," Hans finished, showing a small break in his Guardian mask revealing how worried he was for Rose's safety.

"I thought that he was the rational one! Now we're going to have to try and rescue Rose without him," Christian said his anger fizzling out as he collapsed onto the chair next to me looking burnt out. I knew how much Rose meant to him, even if they did argue like cats and dogs half the time, and now that Dimitri had gone rouge, it just made everything so much worse.

Pulling myself together and making myself act like the Queen I was, I took charge. "What's done is done, Dimitri has gone after Rose and we can't help him right now. What we can do is try and find Rose. What do you have for me Hans?" I asked in what Rose called my Queenly voice. _Rose, I miss you so much._

"Guardian Hathaway's communicator was transmitting for a while after she was taken so we know the direction that she was taken in. I've sent out a team to search that area for clues as to where their destination might be. Other then that, we don't have much to go on. The attack was quick. They were in and out before we could tag any of them either."

That's it? No wonder Dimitri decided to cut and run, we had nothing to go on!

"We need to relay all the information that we get to Dimitri. He may have gone off on his own, but he's not to proud or stupid to ignore us if we're giving him useful intel." I said thoughtfully.

"I've tried to contact him but he's not answering. It could be because at this point he knows that we didn't have much and are just trying to talk him into coming back," Hans said predictably.

"Yes well cradle robber's brains nobleness and morals aside, if he doesn't start picking up the phone to us then we're not going to be able to give him any information that we do find. I can dream walk with him, but right now he's running like a machine. I saw him last time Rose got taken. He barely slept five hours a night, I'll have to time my visits carefully if I want to catch him," Adrian piped up holding Sydney's hand next to him.

Sydney!

"Sydney how are you going with your diluted Strigoi vaccine?" I asked a sudden hope building up in my chest. It would save so much time and man power if we could just chuck a few gas grenades in through a window then storming whatever fortress that they're undoubtably hiding up in by now.

"I don't have anything real to work with because I'm still missing some vital ingredients. But right now the subject is moot because upon further research, I've discovered that back when Moroi first started turning Strigoi the world was a different place and our DNA structure was different. Years of pollution, fast food and other modern day influencers have slightly but significantly altered our genetic make up. And since Tasha has started the virus anew with first her turning Strigoi and then turning others after her she's changed the entire dynamic of the strand of the Strigoi virus. Which means that I'm going to have to start back at square one and make up an entire new chemical compound like I did the first time. So I can't give you any definite time lines. Sorry," she added looking sad that she couldn't help anymore.

"It's ok Sydney. Just do whatever you can," I said giving her an enthusiastic smile.

"Hey wait a minute!" Eddie shouted from where he was sitting in a corner looking like a lost puppy. "What about that Strigoi tracker thing that you used on the big screen TV when Rose was pretending to be evil! You know the one that lights up red for Strigoi!" Eddie asked excited. And so was I. I looked over to Sydney hopefully. If we could get a location on where Rose was then we could just charge in right now and that would be the end of this. But as I looked at Sydney's face, I knew that my hope had been premature.

"That tracker was keyed into the same strand of DNA that made the bio bomb work. It won't pick up this new one and it was only a broad location. Just narrowing it down to the right city or town, not accurate enough for us to reliably track," Sydney said sadly.

"Well there must be something else that we can do! My daughter had been taken and is most likely being tortured right now! We need to put more people out and scout out possible locations. It also wouldn't hurt to grid off and divide the search of the surrounding towns and cities. Tasha's smart and knew that she wouldn't be able to get too far with us on her trail. So I'm willing to bet that for now she's still somewhere local," Janine said snapping into super Guardian mode and becoming every bit the bad ass that Rose inherited her skills from.

Hans nodded. "I'll make it happen."

"Have you had any luck in contacting Rose?" Mia asked Adrain speaking up for the first time next to Eddie. I was glad that they had each other to lean on, I didn't want anyone to have to go through this alone.

"Not yet, but it's only been a day. And I don't know what sleeping schedule they're going to keep her on. Not to mention that Tasha said that she was going to torture Rose. Part of that might be sleep deprivation."

I let out a small whimper at the thought of that but quickly pushed out the mental picture before it could get ahold of me.

"I've put out the word that whoever can give me any good info on my daughter's whereabouts will earn my favor so I hope to be getting something out of that soon," Abe said after the conversation lapsed into silence. I knew that Rose's father was some kind of big bad wolf in the mob but right now he sounded like the godfather granting wishes. I just hoped that he was scary enough to get results fast.

"Dose anyone else have anything to add?" Hans asked becaue he was clearly out of ideas.

No one spoke up.

"Alright then, we will meet here the same time tomorrow and see what else we have to work with here. In the mean time," Hans turned to Adrian and Sydney. "I want you to keep working on anything in that lab that might help us get Guardian Hathaway back. And for you to keep up the dream walking with both Guardian Hathaway and Guardian Belikov. You're our best link to them right now."

Adrain gave Hans an intimidating salute. "As you wish el Capitán."

"The rest of you do what you can and be ready, we need to move at a moments notice. Meeting adjourned."

DPOV

I pressed ignore on my phone again and then decided to just turn off the damn thing. Leaving in the middle of the night like I did might not have been the greatest idea in the world but it wasn't a decision that I was going to regret. Because I was going to hunt down Tasha and get my Roza back and I didn't care if Hans decided to fire me for desertion or whatever charge he came up with! Rose was the only thing that mattered.

I decided that my first stop in hunting down Tasha should also be the closest. So a quick flight and a car trip later and I was standing outside of St Vlad's Academy. Getting in wasn't going to be a problem because my reputation precedes me. But that same reason was also going to make using the front gate impossible. Hans had undoubtably gotten the word out that I was rogue and hunting down Tasha and her gang. So as much as it pained me to do it, I had to do this one the Rose Hathaway style.

_Flashback_

_"That can't be true," I said with a smile as Rose cuddled closer to me on our couch as we watch some lame movie._

_"It so is! Before Lissa and I made our big break, we used to sneak out of the school and hit this one club that had a 24 hour all you could eat buffet and karaoke. Lissa and I were hits!" Rose smiled at the memory and I just had to lean in and kiss those smiling lips. After I pulled away, I remembered the question that I was about to ask._

_"St. Vlad's is very well guarded. How did you get past the guards and gates?" I asked as I stroked her hair._

_"Well the guards were easy, I memorized the shift change when I was in primary school. I also knew which guards were a bit lazy and cut a few meters here and there off their routes. I've been sneaking out at night to go and see Lissa after my first month at that school," Rose said sounding proud. "And as for the gates..." She leaned in real close to me, like we were still at school and this was a closely guarded secret. "One night there was this big storm at the school. It blew down trees and tore up the grass and made a real mess. But what only a few chosen students (me, Mason, Eddie and Lissa) were let in on is that one of those fallen trees tore open a hole at the bottom of the side gate, just big enough to crawl through but small enough to hide in the shrubs and go unnoticed for years. We used it only for emergencies and on our birthdays so people didn't catch on. It was our own little secret."_

_End flashback_

I had laughed then as I held my Roza while we were talking about her time here before I came, it was such a happy memory. But I bet that Rose would never have guessed that I would one day be using that memory to break into the school myself.

I ducked low so I didn't get noticed and moved over to where Rose had said that the hole was and hoped that it hadn't gotten discovered and closed up after all these years. It took a while, but I finally found it. Rose had said that the hole was small so I didn't have much hope of fitting, but it must have widened over the years or been discovered and used much more because while it would be a tight but doable squeeze for me, I'm sure that Roza would have fitted no problem.

I got down into an army crawl and squeezed myself in. After stashing my duffle bag in the woods I got up and dusted myself off and just walked around like I owned the place. I wasn't used to bluffing my way through things, I usually followed the rules right to the letter, but if I had learned one thing from living with Rose it was how to fake my way through a shifty situation.

It was unmistakable that I was a Guardian, with my size and muscle, so it was unlikely that I would get challenged. Guardians got transferred all the time so hopefully people,would just think that I was a sub.

I started at the perimeter and worked my way in. From what I found, Tasha used a similar tactic that the band of Strigoi used on the attack Arthur Schoenberg home at Roses qualifiers. By getting a human to stake the wards and break them.

But that didn't tell me much about where Tasha had come from. I decided to check out the area where Tasha had recorded attacking Janine to see if she had inadvertently left some bread crumbs for me to follow.

I looked around but there wasn't much to go on. A lot of the damage had been cleaned up and what was left wasn't enough for me to make any-

"Hey man are you lost?" a young looking Guardian asked as he walked up to me questioningly. I put on my Guardian mask with a touch of innocence and channeled all of my Rose Hathaway bluffing powers and started talking.

"No not really, I was just checking out where the attack happened. I just got transferred here. Were you here when it happened?" I asked moving the conversation along quickly so he didn't have time to wonder why I suddenly showed up when most of the replacements would have already arrived.

"Yeah I was. They must have been watching us for a while because they timed it perfectly. I mean we're always on guard but they picked the exact time when we switch shifts so half of us were tired and the other have had just woken up."

"Do you know what direction they came from?" If they came from a hide out before attacking here then they may have going back after the attack.

"Yeah from the south. Why?" he asked getting curious. I had to move this along faster.

"Just wondering if they went back that way or if they went somewhere new. Don't want to get caught off guard again is all," I said shrugging my shoulders and looking as casual as I could.

"Well the report said that they were staying in some caves, but as long as there not attacking us I don't really care were there hiding. Have you reported in yet? I'm pretty sure that all of the reinforcements were supposed to be here yesterday," he said getting more suspicious now. A good quality in a Guardian but annoying for me right now.

"Headmistress Kirova is an old friend, she understands why I'm a little late," I said name dropping Kirova because there's a good chance that a Guardian as young as this one would still be a little intimidated by her. And luckily for me it seemed to work.

"Oh yeah I get it, well I hope that you settle in here and things returns to normal soon," he said before running off somewhere.

Well that had been a stroke of luck. It sounded like Tasha took the lead of the last group of attacking Strigoi and hid in the caves before her attack. If she went back there before moving on then I might be able to fine where she went before she attacked Court. There was a good chance that she was doubling back on herself now that she has Rose as her hostage and is on the move. If I can catch her before she reaches her destination then I might be able to just slip in between her defenses, grab Rose and then sneak out again.

I headed back to the hole in the fence and got my bag before crawling out. I looked up at the sky and cursed, I was going to have to get indoors before the sun went down because I did not have a good track record with those caves and the dark. But once it was daylight again I was going to sneak in and check those caves out. Hopefully that was where Tasha decided to hold Rose.

Hold on Roza, I'm coming for you.

**Well I'm pretty tired from moshing at Easterfest so I'll keep this short.**

**What will Dimitri find at the caves?**

**Will Lissa and the others be able to find Rose before it's to late?**

**And what torture is Tasha going to come up with next for Rose?**

**Well you'll find out when your reading my next chapter**


	11. Chapter 11

**All right who did it? Come on fess up! Oh so your saying that it was just a coincidence that I just happened to be taking a long time to update when I find what I thought was a snake under my bed! Well it turned out to be a blue tongue lizard, but I'm from Australia! Snakes are to be assumed! So I want whoever did it to come clean or I won't update again until I finish the book that I'm reading! Ha how do you like em applies?" **

_I headed back to the hole in the fence and got my bag before crawling out. I looked up at the sky and cursed, I was going to have to get indoors before the sun went down because I did not have a good track record with those caves and the dark. But once it was daylight again I was going to sneak in and check those caves out. Hopefully that was where Tasha decided to hold Rose. _

_Hold on Roza, I'm coming for you. _

RPOV

_Buzz Buzz Buzz_

That was the only sound I have heard for the last...I don't know how long. The cell that I was kept in was underground so I didn't have a window. And the only light that was down here was a yellow light bulb that was flickering on and off all of the time and making an annoying buzzing sound that was driving me CRAZY! I wondered, not for the first time, if that was the first kind of torture that Tasha had planned out of me. That she was starting off slowly and building up to nail pulling and recording of screaming babies. I had seen that on a YouTube clip once about the training that they put you through in the army and it didn't look fun.

I think that I was about a week in by this point based on the food that they were bringing me, and I think that I was starting to lose it. I had always talked to myself a bit, congratulating myself when I came up with a good comeback or slapping myself mentally when I did something stupid. But now I was doing it out of sheer boredom and I swear that if I kept it up any longer then the little voice in my head was going to start answering me back!

Thinking about when my food was going to come and actually seeing and hearing someone else, even if it was a Strigoi, was something that I actually looked forward to. And wasn't that just a little sad?

There wasn't much variety with my food to go on, but enough for me to tell breakfast, lunch and dinner apart. To be honest, I was surprised that Tasha was actually feeding me so well. After all she wanted to torture me and she knew how much I loved food, but she had been giving me enough for at least two people lately.

But that could just be because she knew that I was allergic to half of it. Sure it smelt good and I eat it like I was starving. But more often then not, I would end up throwing half of it back up again. I mean I knew that I have been sick lately, and was throwing up even before I was kidnapped, but this really was taking it to a new level!

But having the food, even though it made me sick, was still better than not having it, I needed my head on straight to figure out a way out of this place. I was still in my angry and moving about phase of my plan so I had lots of opportunities to test my cell for weaknesses. There were none. The bars were as solid as in any other cell, if not more so; the lock on the door was definitely unpickable without much better tools than I had on me; the floor and walls were all solid cement; and like I said, there was no window to crawl out of. So that left distracting or disabling the guard enough to either get the keys without him noticing or getting the keys and locking him in here instead so he couldn't warn anyone of my escape.

And that wasn't going to be easy, they were very carful with giving me my food. There was a small slit at the bottom of the cell door that they unlocked and slid my food threw when it was time. They were always carful to have two people with them at all times and the one that had the keys would always stand furthest away from the door while the other gave me my food. I could try to act sick, which wouldn't be to hard considering that I was sure that they had noticed me throwing up, and just pretend that it was getting much worse until one of them caved and work from there. But without a weapon, fighting two Strigoi didn't sound like too much fun.

Strigoi responded to power, well I could try and cut a deal with one of-

The sound of footsteps broke my train of thought and I sat up in my bed. It was too early for lunch, I had only just eaten breakfast a little while ago. But then I saw who the footsteps belonged to and it wasn't my food delivery service. It was Tasha.

She looked just as proud and cocky about having me locked up here as she had on the first day.

"Hello Rosemarie," she smiled, knowing how much I hated my full name. "I hope that you have been enjoying your stay with us."

"Oh yes everything has been just fine," I said in a fake cheery voice. "The view is simply divine, but the chlorine from the pool is messing up with my hair," I flicked my hair for dramatic affect. "Do you think you could get me something for that? And maybe some sunscreen? I don't want to ruin my perfect tan with sunburn," I said battering my eye lashes innocently. Tasha didn't like that

"How's isolation going?" she asked with an evil smile.

To be honest, I was taking it hard, I had always been surrounded by people ever since I was four years old and dumped at the Academy. And even when I was on the run with Lissa, we would always go to crowded spots to get lost in the sea of people. But being TOTALLY alone was not agreeing with me at all. I had even tried to make small talk with my captors when they brought me food, but they must have been ordered not to talk to me because no matter what I said, talking, insulting, and threatening, they never spoke back. But I wasn't going to let Tasha know that.

"It's been pretty peaceful actually, I've never had a real holiday before. I may even decide to extend my stay if I like it enough. Tell me when is the karaoke bar opening?"

And that does it for playfully banter. Tasha dropped her nice act.

"Well I'm glad that you enjoyed it so much, because after what I'm about to do to you, you will be begging for isolation."

And with those daunting words, Tasha stepped to the side and a group of Strigoi unlocked my cell and walked in. My first instinct was to run and try and break out of here, but I was ridiculously outnumbered and wouldn't stand a chance so I didn't bother trying anything.

But when I saw the chains that the Strigoi were carrying, I almost changed my mind and went for it. Tasha must have seen the look in my face because she smiled like the Cheshire cat.

"Not so cocky now are you Rosemarie. Do you know what all of this is?" she asked as some kind of weird device with a bunch of tubes and a funnel looking thing of top of it was brought in by more Strigoi.

"You're going to give me an artificial tan because I can't go outside?" I asked on auto pilot. I had no idea what Tasha was going to do to me and I was to afraid to ask. Yes, the famous Rose Hathaway was scared. Well you would be too if this was happening to you right now!

Tasha laughed and it was a sick cold sound now that she was a Strigoi. "Not exactly, let me explain. Have you ever heard of Chinese water torture?" she asked and watched my face for my reaction.

I had. It was where you were chained to a rack and a single drop of water was dropped on your head every second or so and it was meant to drive you slowly insane. And make you feel so helpless that you couldn't even stop a drop of water. I hadn't ever encountered it, but I saw this Mythbusters episode where they had done it and it didn't look pretty **(I actually googled that and watched it for inspiration! It was scary!)** Tasha must have seen the slightly nervous look on m face.

"Aaaa I see that you have. Good. Now since I want to space this out so that I can enjoy it more, today we will start with just two hours, nothing that you can't handle I'm sure," Tasha said in a condescending tone of voice.

_Ok it's just water, it's just a drop of water and some chance, I can handle this. _I thought to myself as I was grabbed by my arms and laid down on my bed and chained. A restraint was put on my head so that I couldn't turn it away and I flinched when I felt one if the Strigoi breath on my neck. They turned the device on and poured in a bucket of water.

And just like that my new torture had started. I didn't know if this had ever been tried on a Dhampir before so I didn't know how well I was going to hold up, but with how stubborn I was I bet I could break the record.

"Now be sure to tell me of you feel any discomfort, I'd hate to miss it," Tasha said and I swear that she just quoted a line out of an old movie. I guess that she just wasn't imaginative enough to come up with her own material.

One hour later and the dripping was a little annoying but nothing worse than sitting through one of Stan's classes. In fact, I was seriously contemplating falling asleep. But that might make Tasha come up with an actually bad torture and I didn't want that.

When the two hour mark came, I was more than glad to get out of the restraints but tried to hide it. I looked over at Tasha and felt a little satisfied that she wasn't smiling, but didn't rub it in her face. I really didn't want her increasing the time line any faster than she had planned. The Strigoi that had been standing around packed up the torture stuff and left without saying a word. Tahsa got up after them and locked the door behind her.

"Well that was a nice little experiment wasn't it Rosemarie?" Tasha said with a big smile apparently not as down as I thought she was at me not going nuts. "We will try this again tomorrow I think." And with that she was gone.

I leaned against a wall and slowly sunk done onto the ground. Ok, that really hadn't been that bad, it actually made me kind of sleepy. But if it kept getting longer it was going to start annoying me, and that was when I was going to get angry and hit things. So if I could find a way out of here before that happened then that would just be great!

I actually did end up falling asleep, but I didn't realize it until I was pulled into a spirit dream.

I was back home, in Lissa's thrown room, just lying on her couch like I had done a hundred times before, only this time it was actually comfortable.

"Adrian!" I cried and threw my arms around him when he appeared sitting next to me.

"Little Dhampir you're alright!" Adrian said and hugged me a little tighter. "You know that all of your little fan club members back at Court are pretty worried about you," he said and pulled back enough so that he could look at me properly.

"What and you're not?" I asked smiling at both being able to talk to someone again, not to mention someone that I actually liked, and someone who always made me smile.

"Me? Naaah," he said waving his hands in a _forget about it _gesture. "I've got fifty bucks that you'll not only come out of this unscathed but somehow end up saving the day while you're at it."

I laughed and lightly punched him on the shoulder. He laughed along with me for a minute and then suddenly became more serious.

"Are you ok? Has that zombie queen hurt you?" Adrian asked with concern in his voice and eyes.

"She kept me in isolation for...how long have I been gone?" I asked because I really had no idea how long I was unconscious for before I woke up in that cell.

"About six days. Cradle Robber went nuts after just two and took off to hunt you and Tasha down."

"He did what?" Dimitri gone rogue?! Mister guardian of the decade going against a direct order and abandoning his station! Man I really am bad influence.

"Yep, he sometimes answers his phone, mostly to Lissa, so we've been able to trade information. So far he's on the trail but had limited success. You wouldn't happen to know where you're being held would you?" Adrian asked not sounding hopeful. I shook my head.

"Sadly no. I'm in a prison cell that's underground but that's about it," I said still thinking about Dimitri. I mean I knew that I would do the same if I were in his shoes, but I was always the reckless one! I didn't expect this from him at all. I suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to be with him right now, not that I hadn't in the past week of course, but I had been trying not to think about it to much. But now being this far away from him physically hurt! I'd give just about anything to be with him right now.

"Hey! Don't think that you've gotten out of telling me about Tasha's torture, you're father would castrate me if I didn't make sure that you were ok before I left. So you were saying isolation..."

"Yep, she locked me in my cell and nobody was allowed to talk to me. It was getting pretty annoying and I was starting to talk to myself a bit too much by the end if it."

"So what's she doing now?" Adrian asked not looking happy but glad that I wasn't hurt yet.

"Chinese water torture," I said with a frown remembering it. But Adrian's reaction was much worse.

"What! That's horrible! Are you ok? Is she going to do it again? Man I wish this dream walking came with a GPS mode," he muttered that last bit to himself but I still heard it and laughed.

"It's not that bad yet, it actually made me sleepy, and I've been having trouble with that lately," I added but I didn't think that he heard me.

"Don't worry Rose, we're all trying our best! We're going to get you out of here I promise!"

"Thanks Adrian. What would really help is if you could just stay here with me until someone wakes you up. I really didn't handle isolation very well."

Adrian just gave me one of his million dollar smiles. "Sure thing little Dhampir."

I ended up getting a few hours with him. He filled me in on what everyone was doing and what the latest scandal was and for a while everything felt almost normal. Until I had to wake up that is.

Lissa's POV

I had always wondered why Dimitri, and later on Rose, had always felt the need to learn how to make and keep up a guardian mask. I mean just because they were meant to be professional and act like responsible Guardians didn't mean that they had to shut out all emotion all together right?

But after a whole week without Rose, I was starting to understand. Sometimes things in life happen that you just can't deal with and still function like a human... or what passed for one in our world. So you had to put on a mask and pretend like it didn't matter so that the world didn't see that you were falling apart on the inside.

Even though I was worried sick about Rose and wanted nothing more than to spend every waking hour looking for her, I was still the Queen. And by being Queen, I had a lot of other responsibilities to deal with. So that meant that now I too had a guardian mask that I put on to hide my emotions. I simply couldn't make myself get up out of bed in the morning if I kept thinking about Rose being held captive in whatever awful place that Tasha had her in. I couldn't simply stop running the kingdom just because I was worried about my best friend.

So I got up, went to meetings, talked politics and tried to stop myself from screaming. That was, until I walked into my meeting room that was held every day to talk about the progress that we had made in hunting down Tasha and finding Rose. That was the only time besides when I was alone with Christian that I could actually show my worry and sorrow about loosing Rose.

I sat down on my chair and looked around at the people in the room with me. Everyone besides Adrian was here, but since he was probably busy dream walking, I didn't bother to wait for him and started the meeting off informally with, "What do we have?" I had asked no one in particular but of course it was Hans that answered.

"We now know for a fact that when Guardian Hathaway was taken they went north. But it's unclear where they went after that because my men didn't find anything at the area when the tracker stopped transmitting. As Guardian Hathaway senior suggested," Hans said gesturing to Janine who was sitting across from him. "We have gridded up the map and are currently searching every piece of it, but with resources stretched so thin it will likely take some time."

"Is that everything that you have?" I asked trying not to sound rude, but that's all the progress that he's made in a week? I should have jumped ship with Dimitri when I had the chance! I probably would be better off by now!

Hans looked slightly embarrassed at his lack of achievement but nodded and stayed quiet insted of offering excuses.

"Fine. Next?" I asked and saw Rose's father standing up with Janine by his side and was braced myself for his usual mob boss tactic of blackmail and threats. Which, by this point would most likely get us better results, and if that meant finding Rose quicker then you weren't going to hear me complaining.

But what I wasn't expecting was for none other then Ivan to come bursting threw my door with a bunch of my door Guardians trailing behind him!

"Is it true!" he asked looking around the room franticly like he was looking for something.

"Ivan? What are you here?" I asked standing up and moving closer to him. By this point, Violet had run in after him and was also being trailed by Guardians. But while they were hesitant to hurt Ivan because of his reinstated royal status, that had no such compulsions about Violet, even though she had married Ivan and as such had gained his title. It had been illegal but with all that the two had been through, I had no problems in making an exception.

"Sorry about this your majesty!" one of the Guardians said as he cast Ivan a dirty look. "He just came out of no where and demanded to see you, and once we told him that you were busy this human," he said the word human like it was a dirty thing and grabbed Violet by the arm roughly, "caused a distraction by knocking over a vase and screaming and- AAAH," he screamed.

While he was busy talking, Violet took the opportunity to bite him in an attempt to make him let go of her.

"Why you dirty little blood whore!"

"Let her GO!" Ivan yelled and with almost Dhampir speed stepped close to the Guardian and pushed him away from Violet. And then through a punch to his face for what he called Violet. The Guardian and his friends were about to retaliate when Hans called out.

"STAND DOWN!" Hans roared and instantly all of the Guardians that had been trying to get ahold of both Ivan and Violet took a step back. Hans then took charge of the situation and asked the question that we had all been thinking.

"Now what are you two doing here?" Hans asked as Ivan pulled Violet to his side and made sure that she was ok.

"I'm here because I've heard some disturbing rumors! First that Strigoi had started appearing again, then that Rose had been taken, and now that Dimitri has gone AWOL! I tried to call and figure out what the hell was going on but with the recent tropical storms, I couldn't get through so Violet and I decided to cut our honeymoon short and come back and see what was gong on."

Ivan and Violet had gone to the Caribbean Islands for their honeymoon and none of us had felt the need to worry them about the Tasha problem until they got back, thinking that they needed some time and space to settle after what had happened only about six months ago.

And apparently no one had thought to contact them about the attack at Court or Rose being taken ether.

"So tell me, how much of what I've heard is true?" Ivan asked with a hard look in his eyes.

"I'm afraid all of it is," I said and then gave him a quick run down on what has been happening since he and Violet left. By the time I was finished, Ivan and Violet looked both angry and devastated.

***WARNING SILLINESS AHEAD*! **

"How could this have happened! We wiped out all of the Strigoi in the world for heavens sake! How could you have managed to let one loose! We might as well be starting from scratch now!" Ivan said looking more angry now than sad. I guess it was because he knew personally how blood thirsty Strigoi were.

Then suddenly Ivan got a stupid smile on his face.

"You know what? It doesn't matter anyway because the auther of this fan fic is too tired right now to continue so it's good night for now and would anyone like some hot chocolate that I brought back from the Caribbean? I'm not sure why because I don't think that the Caribbean Islands are famous for their hot chocolate but it sounded like a good idea at the time."

Everyone said yes and even Rose and Dimitri took time out if their busy schedules of being held prisoner and franticly hunting down the other one to stop bye and say hi. But of course they were both to busy making out with each other before the story started again and they had to go back to being separated to be of much good conversation. But the break in all of this drama was still nice while it lasted.

**(Lol sorry guys I was tired and just decided to write whatever came to mind ;)**

**Told you it was silly;) Now I ment what I said! No more updates untill I know who put the almost snake under my bed!**

**And on a serious note. What did you guys and dolls think of the torture seen? More or less detail? To scary? Not originals enough? Let me know:) **

**And be on the look out for my Easter update on my JLOT holiday special:)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry for the late update, but I did warn you that I was in the middle of a really good book and that I wasn't going to update until whoever it was that put the almost snake under my bed fessed up...ok so I was just being lazy but my reasoning still stands! **

**Anyway Disclaimer: I don't own VA and all that Jazz!**

_"How could this have happened! We wiped out all of the Strigoi in the world for heavens sake! How could you have managed to let one loose! We might as well be starting from scratch now!" Ivan said looking more angry now than sad. I guess it was because he knew personally how blood thirsty Strigoi were._

_Then suddenly Ivan got a stupid smile on his face. _

_"You know what? It doesn't matter anyway because the auther of this fan fic is too tired right now to continue so it's good night for now and would anyone like some hot chocolate that I brought back from the Caribbean? I'm not sure why because I don't think that the Caribbean Islands are famous for their hot chocolate but it sounded like a good idea at the time." _

_Everyone said yes and even Rose and Dimitri took time out if their busy schedules of being held prisoner and franticly hunting down the other one to stop bye and say hi. But of course they were both to busy making out with each other before the story started again and they had to go back to being separated to be of much good conversation. But the break in all of this drama was still nice while it lasted. _

_(Lol sorry guys I was tired and just decided to write whatever came to mind ;)_

_Anyway back at the plot! _

"We were hunting Tasha down and were almost on her trail before she turned Strigoi. Rest assured, we are working around the clock to shut her down and get back Guardian Hathaway," Hans said formerly.

"Yeah well you had better try harder because if what you say is right and that Tasha has had Rose for a week then you can bet all of the Royals' money in Court that the situation over where she is isn't pretty," Ivan said before he sat still looking frustrated. Violet went to sit down next to him and took his hand, trying to comfort him as everything sank in.

I knew that she must be upset too. She and Rose had really bonded when they were both held prisoner by Ivan before he got changed back into a Dhampir. I wanted to sit back and give both of them a little time to let this sink in, but Ivan's insight into Strigoi thoughts and behaviors might help us predict Tasha's next move.

"Ivan, do you have any idea what Tasha might be going to do next now that she has Rose?" I asked hoping that he magically had all of the answers.

"Well we know that she can't turn Strigoi again, so my guess is that she's doing exactly what she said and is torturing Rose. But as to where she might be...well the hide out of every Strigoi is different. There is no 'one type', it depends on who the person was before they were turned. For instance, Dimka and I went to Russia because that was our home and we felt safe there and were well connected for what we had planned. But Tasha has her own agenda so she could be just about anywhere."

"The word on the street," said Abe standing up and continuing on with the meeting like nothing had even happened, "is that she's staying close to the areas surrounding Court but has gone to ground, hiding out and laying low, until some of the heat from the kidnapping and breaking into Court cools down," he said in his normal tone of voice. But then he started talking in his cold dead voice that I thought sounded far too much like a Strigoi for my own liking and I knew that what was coming was one of his many death threats that made even me scared.

"Trust me when I say that if she dares to step one foot out from under the slimy rock that she's hiding under then I will be the first to know."

I was about to respond to that when suddenly the doors bursted open again, but this time with a more excited face. Adrian ran into the room and called out with a big grin on his face.

"I've made contact!" he shouted before he noticed Ivan in the room and then stopped to look around at our faces. "Did I miss something?"

"We were just filling Ivan and Violet in on the recent Rose situation. But I think that you should tell us about you making contact with Rose first!" I said excitedly standing up and walking over to him like that would somehow make what he said clearer. "How is she? Is she hurt? What is Tasha doing to her? Do you know where she is?" I asked, the questions pouring out of my mouth quicker than Adrian could possibly answer them. But I couldn't help it, I was just so happy that we had FINALLY gotten through to her!

"Wow slow down a bit your queenlyniss! Your answers are she's fine, she's not hurt yet, Tasha was doing isolation but had now moved up to Chinese water torture and she has no idea where she is," Adrian finished looking less optimistic as he realized that even though him making contact was a good thing, his news was not so much.

"What! How dare she! I swear the second that I find out where she is, I'm sending out the best team of the most ruthless, mad, criminal mercenaries that money can buy!" Abe said exploding from where he was sitting and watching our exchange.

"No arguments here, she said that she's holding up for now but that it's starting to get to her. Who knows how much longer she can take it before she cracks," Adrian said looking as somber and sad as I had ever seen him since Sydney got kidnapped. All enthusiasm from earlier was gone.

"Rose didn't hold up so well last time she was left alone," Eddie said into the quiet and I shuddered at the memory. But then Eddie said with what sounded like forced optimism. "But Rose is a tough nut to crack. I bet that she can handle water torture no problem, right Adrian?" Eddie said looking at Adrian expectingly.

"Yeah," Adrian said catching onto what Eddie was trying to do. "She had just finished her first go at it when I talked to her. She said that it wasn't so bad and that she actually felt kind of sleepy afterwards," Adrian finished with his trade mark smile back in full swing again.

"Well it didn't matter how well she's holding up right now, because if we don't get to her soon then her condition is only going to get worse," Ivan said breaking out of the silence that he was in. "Now I know that we don't have any idea where Tasha is right now, but what are you doing to find her?"

I was about to answer when Janine stood up. "So far we've gridded up a map and are searching everywhere that we can. But so far nothing."

"What about underground?" Ivan asked and no one answered. Ivan looked around at our faces, shocked. "You mean to tell me that Tasha literally tunneled her way in here and you expected her to have an above ground hide out! Are you serious!? Strigoi are attracted to cold, dark environments! Why do you think that you find so many of them in winter hiding out and dark allies! They like the warm bite to the blood that the body has when it's trying to keep itself warm in the snow! Honestly am I the first one of you lot to think of that?!" Ivan was standing up and yelling at us by now, almost shaking with anger.

The entire room was silent for a while, no one knowing how to answer that question. Hans was the first, but he was more interested in saving face and protecting the image of the Guardians than about where we should be looking to find Rose now that we had a lead.

"We are well aware of Strigoi preference to cold and dark-"

"Then why am I the first one to bring it up!" Ivan shot back in a less than respectful tone. "I mean I was taken in Russia, Dimka was taken in a cave, why had nobody noticed that yet!"

"Well you were a Strigoi for a long time-" Hans began again.

"And you people have been studying and fighting Strigoi for hundreds of years! So again, why the hell didn't any of you think to make the connection when Tasha tunneled in here and kidnapped Rose!?"

Silence, there sure was a lot of that happening here for a meeting.

"That's a very good question. One that I guarantee we will have people working on immediately. But right now we need to start making a list and coming up with cold and possibly underground places that Tasha might be keeping Rose," said Janine. Not at all caring that Ivan just insulted the Guardians. A group that Janine had spent her entire life becoming and preserving, just caring about getting her daughter back. _Oh Rose, how I wish that you could see this. _

"Well at least one of you has some brains," Ivan said as he walked over to Abe and Janine to start thinking of places. Meanwhile, I tore into Hans about making this well known to all of our Guardians and making it a topic in all of the Academies.

"Yes well this is all well and good but what are we going do while teams are out searching for Rose?" Mia asked. She was the only one that didn't have a direct use here and was looking a little lost.

"You...are going to be in charge of monitoring communications. Report to Guardian HQ after this meeting. If you hear even a whisper of Guardian Hathaway's name over anything electronic then I want to be hearing it."

Mia brightened up at the thought of having a real assignment to work with the others noted enthusiastically.

"The rest of you know your jobs so what are you sitting around here for?" Hans barked but I saw a hint of a smile pulling at his lips. Everyone jumped to their feet eager to get to work and get Rose back.

RPOV

I woke up lying against the wall where I had accidentally fallen asleep and ended up dream walking with Adrian. I stood up to stretch and regretted it instantly when I moved my neck. I had fallen asleep at an awkward angle and was paying for it now. But strangely, I didn't mind. I looked across my cell at my bed and felt a wave of uneasiness about laying down on it again. _Where had that come form? _

Shaking my head at the silliness of that thought, I went to the sound that had woken me up and realized that it was breakfast. But before I even got a chance to put any of the food in my mouth, I was bending over the toilet and emptying out the little contents that I still had in my stomach from dinner the night before. Wiping my mouth and getting up to drink some water that was with the food, I sat back down again. You would think that being a Dhampir my body would be able to get over or get used to whatever it was that was making me so sick lately, but noooo. That would just be to convenient!

I was suddenly hungry again and dug into my food like I was starving and it was soon gone. I was just about to get up and brush my teeth (yeah I was surprised that they give me a tooth brush too) when suddenly I heard it.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The sink was dripping. It was nothing new, it had always done it. So why was it now making me freeze like a wild animal would when it's spotted by a predator?

_This is stupid_. I told myself. _It's just a dripping tap! What is a tap going to do to you?_ I made myself walk over and turn the tap on...and instantly felt better. Great! On the list of irrational fears I can now add dripping water next to needles! Some fearless Guardian I was.

A little while later, I heard footsteps and my insides turned cold. This shouldn't be affecting me. I told myself again trying to shake off whatever it was that was making me react this way. The water torture didn't hurt me yesterday and it's not going hurt me today.

I got up and met Tasha's smiling face one again.

"And how is our little captive today?" she asked in face nice voice.

But this time I was in no mood to fake pleasantries.

"Aaaw what's the matter, had a bad nights sleep?" she asked and I almost wanted to laugh at how wrong she was. My sleep was wonderful; it was the waking up that I wasn't happy about.

"Well no need to fret. If your sleep was so bad then I'll let you go back to bed," she said in that fake nice voice. "In fact, you can stay in bed... All day," she said and her Strigoi voice and smile was back and I wanted to reach for the stake that I didn't have anymore.

I looked behind me to see that the Strigoi that were setting up the water torture machine was carrying much more water this time and I felt dread sinking in.

"I though that you were going to drag this out slowly and have fun with it?" I said sounding off hand and slightly teasing so she didn't notice how uneasy my body language was.

"Well yes that was the plan. But you handled it so well yesterday that I think I need to up the amount today. So how does 10 hours sound to you?" Tasha asked almost like she was actually expecting me to answer her.

_Ten hours. Crap_! I was jumpy at two but it wasn't too bad. How was I going to handle going straight to ten! _Come on! You can talk yourself out of this! _

"Bit of a change in schedule is there?" I asked adding a smile like I knew something that I shouldn't. "Is Court giving you a bit of trouble and making you eager to end our time together? And just as we were becoming such good friends," I said in a fake sad voice. And couldn't help but add an '_aaaw how sad for you'_ look that had Tasha dropping her smile.

"Not at all," she said picking it back up again. "I just wouldn't want you getting bored. But don't worry, I've decided that the same torture everyday was going to get to boring, especially if it's going to be as slow as this one. So instead you will be getting a new kind of torture everyday! Now doesn't that sound fun!?" she announced it like she was a Kindergarten teacher trying to get kids excited about eating vegetables.

"Heaps," I said not even bothering to put sarcasm in my voice. There was no way that I was going to get out of this. But at least she was still starting small, which gave me a bit more breathing room. But if I didn't get rescued or get myself out of here soon then I might not be able to.

I walked over to my bed but had to be forced to lay down and struggled as they put the chains on my wrist and feet. I didn't like this. The water hadn't even started yet and I was already starting to panic and wanting to punch someone (or preferably everyone) in the room.

The water started dripping and I tried to make myself relax like I did yesterday. And at first I did. The water dripped for a second and then stopped for a half a second and then dripped again. It was slow and repetitive and not too bad. But this time, instead of only having Tasha in the room, they all stayed. Which made my anxiety levels shoot right up. And it just got where when about an hour in, Tasha got up and starting talking.

"Well as fun as this has been you're going to be here for a while and I have things to do. So see you later Rosemarie." And just like that she was off.

I think I was about three hours in by now and I was really starting for feel weird. I never sat this still, even when I was asleep, I tossed and turned. It just wasn't natural for a Dhampir to sit still. We were built to move around and run and fight! But every time that I tried to shift a bit, I pulled against my restraints and that did two things. One, rub and hurt my wrists and make me mad. Two, remind me again that I was chained to my bed and that I couldn't defend myself even if it was to stop a stupid drop of water!

Maybe five hours and 8600 drops of water later and I was starting to feel what would have been spirit darkness if I was still bonded to Lissa. I was angry beyond reason but underneath that I think that I was cracking. I was flinching every time that the water hit and I felt so helpless that I couldn't even turn my head. And so much water had dropped on my head that I wasn't even sure if I was crying right now or not!

I couldn't even remember how many hours in I was now and I didn't even care if I was crying or not, I just wanted to go home and cry in Dimitri's arms. I said his name every time a drop hit me and I wasn't sure if it was helping or not but I was clinging onto my sanity by my fingernails by this point and I had no idea what I was going to do when I got loose.

An eternity later and I was dimly aware that the water had stopped and that my chains were being undone. I quickly sat up and ran across the room. I didn't want to be anywhere near that bed again. I was standing in a corner ready to fight and hoping that one of the Strigoi would just come after me already. I was well past caring that I didn't have a stake on me and was just about willing to rip their throats open with my teeth if I had to!

"My my my. What a difference a day makes, right Rosemarie?" Tasha asked as she walked into the room and I lost it!

Before I even knew what I was doing, and long before I even thought if this was a good idea, I was across the room and attacking Tasha for all I was worth. This was all her fault! She sent me those tapes, she tormented my friends, she hurt my family, she kidnapped me and left me alone and now she was torturing me and having FUN doing it! She had to pay.

I was a very good and skilled fighter. I had been personally trained by Dimitri after all. But right now I was so consumed by my anger that I wasn't thinking. I was just lashing out like an animal.

I punched and kicked and clawed. But Tahda was also a skilled fighter and now she could add Strigoi strength and speed into that arsenal.

And she wasn't playing fair. Just as I pulled a good chunk of her hair out her, backup posy, came and pulled me off of her. I struggled but without a stake and most of my anger being used up on Tasha, I just slumped in their arms.

Meanwhile, Tasha looked both happy and angry at the same time and didn't seem to know which emotion to have first. She was clearly mad as hell that I pulled out some of her hair but she seemed almost...smug about it.

"It seems that water torture has had an affect on you after all Rosemarie. I'll remember that." And just like that she and her minions took the machine and went out of the cell locking the door behind them.

I felt so emotionally drained that I just sank to the floor. _Where the hell had that come from, _I thought as I closed my eyes and rested my aching head on my knees. I mean I get that ten hours is a big bump from two. But the two didn't even bother me that much, so why did the ten push me into a psychotic rage? _Well whatever it was it's past for now._ I thought as my eyes slowly drifted closed. I briefly thought about going back to bed...but I soon dismissed the idea. I was never sleeping in that bed again, instead I pulled the mattress off and dragged it across the room. I vaguely realized that it was almost dinner time and that I had miss lunch. I really just wanted to stay here and not move...until the irony of that hit me. I had literally just had a fit over being chained up and not being able to move and now I didn't want to!

Smiling to myself, I got up when the food arrived and ate it all and for once didn't throw up afterwards. _Well there was a silver lining after all, _I thought happily...until I had a deeply disturbing thought.

What was in store for me tomorrow?

**What indeed? I have a few ideas but let me know if you want to see anything special.**

**More Dimitri next chapter, what do you think he will be doing? **

**What dose Tasha have in store for Rose next time? **

**How much longer is Rose going to take this before she goes nuts? **

**Review and find out!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Well here it is my lovely's:) I won't put up a chapter in honour of it because I have no idea how to do that with VA...But I dedicate this chapter to our brave ANZAC's who fought and died for us all those years ago.**

** Lest we forget.**

**Disclaimer: You all know the drill by now.**

_Smiling to myself, I got up when the food arrived and ate it all and for once didn't throw up afterwards. Well there was a silver lining after all, I thought happily...until I had a deeply disturbing thought._

_What was in store for me tomorrow? _

DPOV

"So what's it going to be?" I asked in a voice that I only ever heard myself use when I was a heartless Strigoi. I had come up empty in the caves when I had went to see if I could find any clues as to where they might be keeping Rose. But I did manage to pick up from their tracks that there were roughly fifty of them so far and, more importantly, where they were going.

"No...no please don't do this!" the Strigoi begged as the sun rose a fraction higher. I had followed my lead and it had led me to a neighboring town where, after laying in wait for a few hours in a dark ally, I had managed to catch a Strigoi off guard as he was about to close in on his victim. I tried to make him tell me where the rest of his swarm was, but the best that I could get out of him was that he got separated somehow and left behind by the others. I wasn't surprised. It's not like they actually noticed, or cared, if one of their numbers got lost or killed.

He wouldn't tell me anything else so now here we both were sitting under the shade of a tree just before sun rise and one of us was about to get a nasty case of sunburn.

"Then tell me what I want to know and maybe I will make your end a nice quick one," I said as I played with my stake. Normally the idea of torturing a Strigoi seemed unnecessarily cruel and sadistic. But Rose had told me, none to proudly, when she was on the hunt to track me down how she and her group of rogue Dhampirs had held down Strigoi for interrogation. And just like her, I was willing to go to whatever levels of torture that I needed to if it meant getting information on where my Roza was.

But I preferred to make it a quick, pain free kill. So I was letting the impending threat of the sun do the work for me.

"Please I don't know anything about this Tasha or Rose that you keep asking about! I swear!" he shouted again as he thrashed back and forth to try and loosen the ropes. But all he was succeeding in doing was making them tighter.

"Really?" I asked as I leaned back against the tree like I could have stayed here all day. "Well considering that up until two months ago, the entire Strigoi race was completely wiped out, I find it a bit hard to believe that you're telling me the truth," I said in a lazy tone as I tossed my stake back and for the between my hands.

"I am! I...I."

"And I have to say that the chances of finding you lurking around the exact same place that I just happened to have tracked down Tasha's swarm to seems a bit of a long shot to me. So how about this: you tell me what I want to know right now and I wont just leave you hanging here and waiting for the sun to eat you up and turn you to dust bit by bit. Now how does that sound?" I asked throwing all of my borrowed Rose Hathaway swagger in.

The Strigoi looked around frantically, like he could somehow grab something to fight me off with, even though his hands and feet were tied around a tree branch and he was swinging from side to side.

"All right all right! I was turned by Tasha and her swarm, are you happy now?!" he shouted as the sun rose a bit more and was now almost reaching his bare feet.

"Where is Tahsa taking Rose?" I asked quickly, I didn't want the sun to get to him before I got my answers.

"I don't know! She didn't like us asking questions, she just told us when and where to attack and we did it!" he said quickly, the sun creeping us closer.

"Where was she headed next?" I asked hoping that I could put the same trick twice and keep tracking her down.

"She wants us to hit towns in four different directions and then just pick one at random so that you wouldn't find her that's all I know I swear!" he shouted, arms trying to wiggle out of the sun's path.

"Wants you to hit a town? You mean Tasha isn't leading you anymore?" I asked surprised. Why would she go through all of the trouble of making her own private Strigoi army and then not bother to lead it?

"She ordered a group of us to stay here in this area and cause as much panic and trouble as possible before moving onto the next town so that you wouldn't be able to find her, while she and the rest of us went back to her hide out to plan, we're to stay here and await orders."

So that meant that Tasha might already be at her hide out and torturing Rose right now!

"What direction were you going to attack in next?" I growled

"The east!"

"How long is she going to keep Rose?" I already knew the answer but I had to ask in case the answer, or Tasha's mood, changed.

"Until she get's bored or she accidentally kills her...AAAHHH," he screamed. The sun was moving up his body and it was time to put him out of his misery. I walked over to him and quickly and cleanly shoved my stake through his chest and into his heart.

I picked up my duffle bag and walked away and left the Strigoi body for the sun to clean up after.

So Tasha wasn't out in the open causing trouble like we thought. Instead, she had let lose a small group of her swarm of minions to make a lot of messes to distract us. But that still left the question of whether her hide out local or not. If it was then she was most likely already there. But if it wasn't then I might be able to follow her tracks like I did to this town.

I could tell that they were all traveling on foot and to the south to this town. But the last that I heard from Court was that Rose's locater last reported that she was being taken to the north. So that still left two other directions and targets to go. But now that I knew which way they're headed next that meant that we could set up an ambush!

It's possible that Tasha knew that Rose would have a tracking chip on her equipment somewhere (it was standard guardian protocol) so she might have lead us in the wrong direction on purpose to throw us off of her trail. We would be looking one way while Tasha sent out her minions in the other directions to keep us running around in circles and all the while Tasha was going a completely different way with my poor Roza.

I clenched my teeth together at the thought of running all over the country chasing Strigoi trails while Tasha sat tucked away in her little hide out and was having her _fun_ with Rose. I almost crushed my phone as I took it out of my pocket to tell Hans this new information. I was glad that I had left when I did. I knew from Lissa that Hans wasn't making anywhere near the progress that he should have been. In fact, it seems that Hans has been mishandling this entire situation with Tasha right from the word go. Could Hans be loosing his touch? Or was the spy, whoever it was, messing with things again?

I shook my head as I finished dialling Hans's number. It didn't matter. What mattered now was that we finally had something real to go on.

"Head Guardian Croft," Hans chirps voice said over the line.

"I've got a lead," I said getting straight to the point. I quickly filled him in on what I found.

"So her swarm is attacking to the east? How soon?" Hans asked and it sounded over the phone like he was taking notes.

"It will take them at least a week to run there, as far as I can tell their on foot. And they won't be going to a small town either. Their orders are to make as much noise and smoke as possible to distracted us. So you're looking for the most populated place to set up your ambush," I finished wanting to end this conversation quickly and get on the move again.

"I'll get the word out at the next meeting and organize a strike force. We will leave tomorrow. I'll message you with a rendezvous before then and we can meet up to discuss-"

"I'm not meeting up with you," I said cutting him off before he could finish his sentence.

"You're what?...Why not?" Hans asked shocked and slightly angered. He was Head Guardian after all and not used to being told no.

"I'm not joining the ambush with you or the others. We thought that Rose was taken north. Then the Strigoi attacked and came here to the south, now their next target is the east. And that can only mean one thing," I said summing it up for him because he seemed to be having trouble.

"That Guardian Hathaway is being taken to the west," Hans said finally following my train of thought.

"I'm going after her and I'll move faster if I'm alone. Take some prisoners if you can and find out anything that they know about Rose. But I'm going after her. If we're lucky then they will be so distracted by your ambush that I can just slip in and out without being noticed."

Hans was silent for a moment, caught between wanting to order me back and not wanting to because he knew that I would only refuse and make it that much harder to come back to the guardians when this was all over. In the end, he went with the latter. I heard him let out a breath before continuing.

"Alright, you're getting better info out there anyway. Just don't try and be a hero. Get in, get Guardian Hathaway and get out. I can't afford to lose both of you."

"I'll keep in touch," I said before ending the call.

I walked off with a renewed feeling of hope building inside of me. I was getting closer. Though I didn't have an exact location yet, I had a direction to head to. And soon I would have even more.

_I'm coming for you Roza. Stay strong for me._

RPOV

"_Mmm Dimitri," I whispered as he ran his lips softly over my skin and I felt more relaxed right at this moment then I could ever remember._

_"I love you Roza," Dimitri said his voice thick with his accent like it always got when we were getting hot and heavy._

_"I love you more,." I said with a teasing smile as I looked into his deep brown eyes. He let out a low chuckle and I felt my insides clench in anticipation as he slowly moved into position..._

CLUNK

I sprang up and into a half fighting stance before I even knew what I was doing. I quickly looked around me and realized that I had been too deep in my sleep that I hadn't even noticed when the Strigoi had come to deliver me my breakfast. I watched as they slid the metal slab back into place after they slid my breakfast through it and walked away without saying a word.

After they left, I closed my eyes to tried to hold onto my dream. I missed Dimitri so much it was almost a physical hurt. We had been apart before of course, with our busy work schedules it was inevitable. And we had even had some experience at being kidnapped and held hostage before with both of us being taken and turned at one point or another. So I was no stranger to how much it could hurt to be away from him.

But for some reason, it hurt so much more this time. Maybe it was just me getting sick of it happening so regularly. I mean it hadn't even been a full year since I got taken last time. A year between crazy life threatening disasters. Was that too much to ask for?

I walked over to my breakfast and began to eat it thinking now bad it smelt today and how I would much rather be having bacon and eggs, French toast, hash brown, and sausage...with maybe a bit of chocolate drizzle over the top...wait what?

I may be perfectly happy eating chocolate donuts at any waking moment of my life, much to Dimitri's dismay, but I have mostly stopped eating chocolate related things for breakfast. Meh it must just be my body telling me that it wanted something tastier than this slop.

I was just drinking the last of my water when I heard it.

Drip. Drip. Drip

It was still happening. The sink tap was dripping.

I tried to tell myself that it didn't matter...that it was just a dripping tap in a sink...but try as I might I just couldn't get over it. So I did the only thing that a sane...or possibly insane by this point, person would do. I ran over and turned that tap onto a stream so that it wasn't dripping anymore.

_Aaah that was better... It's not like I needed to worry about the water bill here anyway._

After brushing my teeth and leaving the water running, I started doing a little workout. I didn't have anything better to do and I didn't want to be sloppy when the time came to bust out of here. As it was, I was putting on a bit of weight because I wasn't exercising nearly as much anymore.

After that, I styled, undid, and restyled my hair because I really had nothing better to do. Then I started pacing back and forth waiting. I'm not sure why because the only thing that I was expecting was my tortures so it's not like I was eager for them to get here or anything. But Tasha had said that I was getting a new torture today so to say that I was more than a little uneasy was an understatement.

And then as they had done for the last three days, a little bit before lunch, I heard the sound of multiple footsteps and I knew that it was time.

And sure enough Tasha came walking through the cell with a big smile like she always did.

"Lovely to see you're looking so well rested after yesterday Rosemarie, how did you sleep?" she asked looking at the mattress that I had dragged over across from the bed.

_Oh wrong question _I thought with an evil smile of my own today. "Well since you asked, it was very pleasant. In fact, I was having a VERY nice dream about Dimitri and I..." I trailed off suggestively at the end letting her draw her own conclusion.

Ooooh the smile didn't last long on her face today! She was back to death glaring me again in half a second flat!

"Well enjoy your dreams while they last, because you will never be experiencing them in person again," she looked at one of the Strigoi minions and they came and grabbed me by my arms. I was expecting them to take me back over to my bed and start some new kind of water torture because the last one was such a success. But what they did was take me over to a chair that they had brought in and chained me to that instead.

"Well what's on the agenda for today?" I asked trying to sound more confident than I felt. Water torture had really gotten to me in the end so I was glad to see the back of it for now.

But that didn't mean that I was thrilled about having a new kind of torture every day.

"I'm going to really enjoy this Rose," Tasha said as the rest of the Strigoi left the room, and I suddenly didn't feel so confident anymore. Because Tasha was walking towards me with a dangerous look in her eyes and an expensive looking case in her hands.

"Did you know," she started as she set the case down on a table next to her and slowly sarted to open it, "that there are some knives that are said to be so sharp that you don't even feel them cutting you until it's already over?" she asked as she picked up what I now knew was the first of many knifes from that case.

"Not that I have access to anything that fine here of course," she said as she examined her knife in the dim light of my cell. Tasha continued speaking in an almost conversational tone of voice.

"Now I would of course prefer to use my claws for this, you know, give it the real personal touch." She paused then and looked at me with so much cruelty in her eyes I was sure that my heart stopped. "But I thought I that it would just be so much more fun to see how many different kinds of ways that I could make you bleed," she said looking right in my eyes.

And right then, as Tasha walked up to me and started making the first cut on my body, I knew that she was not only going to make me bleed, she was gong to make me scream.

**Ooooo it's getting a bit dark now...is it still ok? More torture or on with my next plot twist?**

**And will Dimitri find Rose before it's to late and Tasha dose something that can't be fixed**** with a few band-ads?**

**Will Rose somehow escape her crazy captor?**

**And why did I not put a talking lama in this Fic?**

**Answer...I don't know...but for all the others you will just have to review so I fell guilty enough to update:)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey guys and dolls! Sorry to keep you waiting for so long...but I have a bit of bad news to deliver...wow déjà vu! I remember doing this same thing in my first story lol. **

**I really am sorry to have to tell you all this but...,**** sadly my wonderful beta: Rocio3452 is going to be busy at school for the next few weeks, and has graciously offered to hand over the betaing role for awhile. So I was hoping that one of you lovely readers would kindly volunteer your time and TEMPORARILY become my beta:) I would greatly appreciate it :)**

**Just PM me if your interested:)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello! Well first of all I would just like to say thank you to all of you who offered to beta my story! I can't believe that you all love me so much! I'm going to get a big head like Rose if you all keep spoiling me like this:) **

**now shout outs to all of the people who offered there time. **

mavelbooks,StandByEzria,Comrade'sRoza,ilovesos9467, and stardreamer2608.

**especially stardreamer2608 who betared this story. You rock!**

**and to the reviewers of my last chapter, here are some highlight. **

Rue-xx:Ooohhh...A talking lama sounds so cool. Like...Talking Lama to the rescue, and Dimitri would just be staring confused at the lama stealing his thunder. xD (Sorry. Too much Math. My mind's kinda crazy right now)

But, please...oh, please, Update. Give me something to look forward to. The entire next month is exam-filled for me and I just need to read something other than my textbooks. And your stories are just so fun. *hint, hint*  
Haha, but seriously...Update. And, if you want torture tips, I'm always willing to demonstrate a few if you don't update soon. *wink, wink*

**You brightened up my day! Keep up to good work! And I just love death threats!**

To VAGypsy:Omg Tasha is a bat s*** crazy and Dimitri needs to charge in and save the day! Hope he finds Rose before she has any serious damage done to her from the crazy Strigoi! Um...*looks around* wheres that damn Llama? Hahahahaha I want one now! The celebration of 100 yrs of ANZACs was beautiful, as was the sunrise! Nice dedication!

**Everyone wants a pice of the talking Llama **

To Guest

:Please update soon. Ice cream with Dimitri on top? Adrian? Christian? Eddie? Mason? Jesse? Aaron? Ambrose? You can have whoever you like. Even combine them all and just have one big MAN Split... what I would give for another chapter.

I love this story sooooooo much

**You really know the way to a girls heart lol:) **

**And oops no time for a disclaimer lol**

_"Now I would of course prefer to use my claws for this, you know , give it the real personal touch." She paused then and looked at me with so much horror in her eyes I was sure that my heart stopped. "But I thought that it would just be so much more fun to see how many different kinds of ways that I could make you bleed." She said looking right in to my eyes.  
_

_ And right then, as Tasha walked up to me and started making the first cut on my body I knew that she was not only going to make me bleed, she was gong to make me scream.  
_

Lissa's POV

This was it. Hans had called a meeting this morning and told us that he had big news, so naturally we had all rushed to the meeting room to hear it. But I think that after he told us what it was we were all a little disappointed. Not that it wasn't wonderful news, because it was. Hans had just told us about Dimitri's latest find and I for one was more then a little relieved that we were finally seeing some results. But I think that we were all far more interested in finding Rose then finding more Strigoi.

Basically the Strigoi were going to attack a big town in the East and we were going to lye in wait and be ready for them, capture some of them and interrogate them. Find out Tasha's plans and Rose's whereabouts. We had a place. And we had a plan. Now we just had to set it in motion.

"How soon can you have the guardians ready?" I asked Hans with genuine excitement in my voice for the first time in too long. This was by far the best lead that we had come up with so far and I was more then ready to run with it if it lead to finding Rose.

"We will leave before sun rise." Hans said with confidence ringing in his voice. "But unfortunately Guardian Belikov had refused to join us in our assault." Hans continued in a more sullen voice.

"What? Why not? This is our best chance so far to find Rose!" Eddie asked shocked

"Because the Strigoi's next target wasn't the only information that Guardian Belikov discovered. He also found out that Tasha is either already at or heading to her hide out with the rest of her swarm towards the west. Guardian Belikov believes that tracking them down is his best chance at finding Guardian Hathaway."

"Then why don't we send some Guardians with him! Give him some back up. We're after Tasha and her main group anyway. Lets nail them and then knock out the small group that is giving us trouble up here." Adrian said looking down ever since he lost the connection to dream walking with Rose.

Hans shook his head. "Right now the attacking swarm is the greater risk. We need to think of all the people that will die if we don't stop it. And we don't have enough Guardians to split them up. Sadly if Guardian Belikov wants back up he's going to have to wait until after the attack." Hans finished looking at Adrian like he wished that he could give him better news.

"That's what you think." Every eye in the room turned to look at Abe. Adrian had healed his broken arm out of guilt over loosing Rose, so Abe stood up proudly with out the need of Janine who was a constant presence by his side. One of them on there own was bad enough, but the two of them together were a dangerous and deadly force that you didn't want to mess with.

"I've used all of my connections both legal and illegal,called in all of the favours that I have and spent a near fortune. And I now have a dangerous and ready strike teem at my beck and call. I'll send them to Belikov and together they well get my little girl back."

"Abe that's wonderful!" I said getting up out of my chair and walking over to him. "For the first time in my life I'm glad that Rose had a scary mobster for a father!" I got a cheeky smirk for that comment.

"Well what can I say, we look after our- "

"LISSA!" Christian shouted and everyone turned to look at him as he ran into the room.

"Chris what is it?!" I asked panicked. He had a shocked and surprised look in his face and was holding something in his hand. I hoped that he didn't have bad news about Rose. We were finally making progress.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked as he walked up to me and put his hands on my arms.

"Tell you what?" I asked still confused by his expression

"That your pregnant!" He shouted and a smile definitely spreading across his face this time. He had been nothing but sad ever since Rose had been taken and this was the closest that I've seem him to happy since.

"What?" I asked at the same time as everyone else in the room did.

"Christian what are you talking about? I'm not pregnant." I said as confused as when he first walked in here.

"Hey I get that you wanted to keep it quiet until we found Rose, but couldn't you have at least told me?" He asked looking almost hurt.

"Lissa your pregnant? But your aura...?" Adrian said looking closely at my aura, and trying to see if I was actually pregnant. Apparently a pregnant woman had a light glow around herself that generated from her stomach.

"But I'm not!" I said exasperated. "What makes you think that I am?"

"I found this in the bathroom." Christian said holding up a blood test sample. "I was washing my hands and I noticed it at the back of the cabinet. I looked at the box and it said that dark red meant that your pregnant." Christian said now sounding confused.

I picked up the test and the box and matched up the colours. Then I looked at the back of the test and felt my blood freeze.

"Christian" I said slowly, the words not wanting to leave my mouth. "This test is set to Dhampir blood."

"Oh...so your not pregnant?" He asked looking disappointed. But forced on a small smile and said " Well I guess that under the circumstances that's probably for the-"

"Christian! I gave this test to Rose! She used it right before the attack!"

"But...but that means that Rose is..." Christian trailed off not knowing how to complete that sentence.

"But that can't be right. We all know that Dhampirs can't have kids together so how could Rose be pregnant?" Asked Mia to no one in particular. "I mean we all know that there's no way that she would ever cheat on Dimitri."

"True. But it wouldn't be the first time that Rose managed to do something that shouldn't be possible. Dimitri's a living example of that." Adrian said looking deep in thought.

"So your telling me, that my daughter is not only kidnapped and being held prisoner by a vengeful Strigoi. But that she is also carrying my grand child that shouldn't exist?!" Janine shouted looking like she wanted to break something, or someone.

"Ok everyone just calm down!" I said using my spirit charisma at it's best to get people to pay attention. "This is unexpected to say the least, but it doesn't really change anything. Finding and rescuing Rose is still our top priority. We now just have one more reason why it should be sooner rather then later." I said looking everyone in the eyes as I spoke to them.

"Hans I want your guardians to deal with the swarm. Abe I want your men to find Dimitri and help him get Rose back. The rest of you know what to do. And if you don't then find some way to be useful." I said in my most queenly like voice and waited a moment to see if there were any other questions before I dismissed them all.

_W'ere coming for you Rose.  
_

RPOV

I woke up laying on the cold hard floor feeling like I had just been used as a big cats scratching post. I slowly dragged myself up into a sitting position and looked down at myself...and wish that I hadn't. I was still wearing my big Orange jumpsuit,but even with that covering most of my body I could still see the condition that my skin was in.

The jumpsuit was just as cut up as I was and I could all to clearly see the damage that Tasha had done. I was completely covered in cuts from head to toe! Most were light and shallow, but those were always the one that hurt the most. Tasha wanted to keep me alive for as long as possible so it made sense that she didn't want me bleeding to death.

Not that she didn't give it her best effort. I had already lost an impressive amount of blood and my jumpsuit was soaked with it. Which by now had dried somewhat and was sticking to all of my cuts and had turned a rusty brown colour. I tried to stand up and make my way over to the sink (which had started dripping again!) and wash my face at least...

But when I tried to get up I felt a fresh rush of pain all over my body.

"Aaaa son of a bitch!" I cried out to no one. I looked to where it hurt and soon found the problem. My jumpsuit was stuck to my cuts, which had dried and scabbed over night. And now when I moved I ripped them off! Great, I thought. Now I wouldn't even be able to move without being reminded of what awaited me tomorrow...or later today...

I suddenly felt a crushing wave of defeat and sunk back down to the floor and let the tears that I had refused to let fall yesterday when Tasha was cutting me, fall from my eyes.

I just wanted to go home! I wanted to have a hot bath, a real meal, and then just curl up in the arms of my soon to be husband and pretend that this was all just some bad dream!

But it wasn't. And sitting on the ground and crying about it wasn't going to change that. Mad at myself for letting Tasha and her mind games get to me, I wiped my eyes and made myself get up, despite the pain, and washed my face. I had no mirror so I had no idea how bad I really looked, but it didn't matter anyway.

I heard a noise outside of my door and looked up in time to see my breakfast being delivered. I sniffed it before I turned around and looked at the tray to see if I could guess what I was having before I went and eat it. A little game I made up to try and keep sane when I was in isolation.

But when I smelt the freshly cooked meal...yep, you guessed it! I threw up!

Man it must be something really bad today for it to smell like that! After I could stand up I held my nose and decided to look and see. I walked over and lifted up the tray lid...to find one of my normal breakfast dishes. A bowl of plan porridge and some toast. But today it had a side of smoked bacon. It must be there way of making sure that my blood supply regenerated itself so that I wouldn't actually bleed to death.

Their unexpected niceness aside , that was still weird. I loved bacon, and the smell,smoked or not, had always made me feel hungry. Shaking my head I forced it down while still holding my nose so I didn't have to add malnutrition to the list of things wrong with my body lately. I wonder what Dimitri was doing right now?

Lately another fun trick that Tasha had been playing on me was sleep deprivation. I would only get a few hours of light unrestful sleep at night before the lights got turned on and a bunch of noise was made to ensure that I didn't get any rest. I had managed to catch a few cat naps in the day, but it wasn't the same. And I hadn't been able to dream walk with Adrian ever since that first time about a month ago.

I closed my eyes and thought of Dimitri. How he must be worring for me, how he was probably turning the world upside down looking for me. I knew that he wouldn't stop until I was back safe in his arms, but the problem was, would enough of me survive long enough to get back into those arms?

_Well not thinking like that I wouldn't! _I told myself. I was going to make it out of here and I was gong to see Dimitri again if it was the last thing that I did! I just hoped that it wasn't.

After cleaning my teeth, and leaving the tap running, I decided to lay back down on my mattress so I didn't move around anymore and pull at my jumpsuit and my cuts. But I had only just got into a more or less comfortable position where I wasn't in to much pain from laying on my cuts when I heard footsteps coming towards me.

No. No. It was to early for more torture! I had only just finished breakfast! Not to mention that I was still trying to recover from my last torture session. Never the less a pair of Strigoi walked up to my cell and unlocked the door. But this time Tasha wasn't one of them.

I expected them to pick me up and chain me to something for more torture and that Tasha would come in later to watch her minions handy works. But instead what happened was one of the Strigoi walking up to were I was laying and said

"Get up and come with us."

Not knowing what was in store for me but wanting more then anything to get out of this cell I did so with out complaint. They took me outside my cell were there were three more Strigoi waiting. Escorts I realised with a small smug smile. Even tortured, cut up, and feeling about as strong as a kitten they still treated me as a high class threat. And if that didn't boost a girls confidence than I didn't know what would!

I followed them for a few minutes untill we came up to a door where we stopped. One of the silent guards got out a key and unlocked it before opening the door and pushing me in. Looking back in time to give that one a murderous death glare I walk forward...and entered a bathroom!

The door closed behind me but I hardly noticed. Normally I was just given a bucket of water and a rag for washing myself if they were being nice! Sometimes all I would get was a bucket of ice cold watter thrown on me without warning when I was asleep. A nice wake up call.

_"Good morning and have some pneumonia!" _

It didn't help that my cell was always just that bit too cold for comfort and that I only had a thin blanket to keep me warm.

I looked around me to see if this was somehow a trap. But it looked like it was just a standard bathroom. With a shower that had a small tub under it for a make shift bath, a sink and ... A mirror.

I hadn't seen myself in...over a month and I looked horrible!

My face looked shadowed and swollen at the same time, with big bags under my eyes. My cut and blooded jumpsuits hung loosely from me in some places and stuck like glue to my bloody cuts in others. It had always been to big for me, but I could tell that I had lost wight. And my hair, the hair that Dimitri loved so much and would spend sometimes up to hours playing with and running his fingers threw...it looked like a birds nest! Matted with blood and knots. I had access to a tooth brush but sadly not a hair brush. And over all I looked exactly like what I was. A helpless Strigoi victim. I was just lucky that Tahsa hadn't started feeding from me yet.

Realising that I probably only had a short time limit in here I slowly and carefully stripped my jump suit and got in the shower. At first I was scared that it would only be cold water and I would just have to suffer and freeze. But the warm water soon kicked in and I just stood under it for a few minutes and soaked up the heat.

Then I started to slowly wash the dirt and dried blood off of my body. The cuts might not have been deep, but it would still take probably weeks to months for them all to heal. I just hoped that Dimitri didn't find my body to repulsive, because with all of the cuts across my body I was was undoubtably going to have of scars...STOP! I yelled at my self. Dimitri would love me even if I lost both of my arms! He would love me no matter what!

_And besides_, I thought as I kept scrubbing ,if I got to Lissa or Adrian soon enough they might be able to heal me enough so that I wouldn't have scars.

After I cleaned up as best as I could with water, I spotted a bottle of soap. I looked at it in surprise when I realised that it was any bacterial soap! I guess that Tasha didn't want me to get sick and die from infection. Not until she was finished having her fun with me, I thought bitterly but grabbed it and used it none the less. There was no way that Rose Hathaway was going to go out because of an infection.

After the hot water ran out I got out of the shower and dried my self with the towel that had magically appeared next to a new change of cloths. I guess that they really did want to keep me alive for a little bit longer.

I walked over to the sink and looked under it. I wasn't to hoperful but I decided to check to see if there was anything that they might have left that I could somehow use to escape...when I found a first aid box.

Not taking the chance that they might have actually left it here by mistake and that they would storm in here and take it away from me I quickly opened it and checked what was inside.

Bandages, disinfectant, Panadol, band-aids, butterfly bandages, ...all the good stuff!

_Jackpot_! I thought as I set to work. I covered my minors scratches in the disinfected and put bandages over the worst of them. Before quickly putting on my bra and putting the Panadol in my cleavage...there was no way that they meant for me to find pain relief. In case they got discovered I decided to pop a few of them right now.

After swallowing two I decided to quickly read the back to see how many I could have in a day.

_Quick acting temporary pain relief suitable for headaches, migraines,cuts, muscle soreness, cold and flu symptoms, toothache and period pain. Last for up to four hours.  
_

Period pain! Crap I must be due soon! I looked around to see if there were any pads or tampons around but came up empty. I wonder if Tasha would give me any or if she would just make me suffer...

_Hey...when was my last period anyway? _I thought back. It had definitely been longer then a month...before I was kidnaped...no, before that as well. I put the Panadol back in my cleavage as I tried to remember...when I realized how tight my bra was. Hey... they must have given me the wrong size. I looked down to check...but no. It was the same size as before. I should have stopped growing by now right?

I looked at myself in the mirror to see if they looked any bigger..and noticed that while I had definitely lost weight all over, it seemed to have accumulated at my stomach. It was swollen like I had just gone ten rounds with a all you could eat buffet! I put my hand on it to see if I could still feel my abs. I know that I haven't been working it lately but come on!

I hadn't really looked at myself lately,evan when I was washing myself with my rag, but I really did look different...

Just then my stomach growled. But I had only just finished breakfast...

No!

No no no that can't be right! I must just be reading the signs wrong...there was no way that I could actually be...

But what else could it be? I was throwing up all the time, I had missed my period, I was having mood swings amd crying for no reason, the smell of food made me sick, my breasts were getting bigger...it all fit.

It was supposed to be impossible...I couldn't actually be...turning into a talking llama right?

** (Sorry sorry! Don't know where that came from...well yes I do...lol) **

I couldn't actually be...pregnant! What was Dimitri going to think if I came back to him pregnant?

Probably that I got "mistreated" But to be fair we didn't actually know if a Dhampir and a Strigoi could reproduce together...nobody have ever been crazy enough to try...well not true. I had been that one time with Dimitri when he was a Strigoi...but that didn't matter now! What mattered was that I had been undergoing intense torture for the last few days. And I may not know much about pregnancy, but that had to be bad for the baby...my baby.

_Crap! I had just taken Panadol!_ I grabbed the packet and read the safety warnings...come on come on come on...ha there '_suitable for pregnant women' _

Oh thank goodness. I didn't go through all of that torture just to loose my baby now...

I had to get out of here! Right now! I had no idea what Tasha had in store for me next, what if it was a beating! What if she punched me in the stomach? What if I had already lost my baby!

No,no don't think like that! This baby was Dimitri's and mine. And that meant that it had two Dhampir parents. So it should be stronger than a normal baby! I put my hand on my stomach and just felt. I knew that I was far to small for the baby to start kicking yet, but I...I just wanted to feel it for a moment.

I had never thought of having a baby. I mean I knew that Dimitri always wanted kids and I was open to the idea of adoption, but me actually having a baby had never occurred to me. But now that I had it, I felt a sudden savage need to protect it. Nobody was going to hurt my child!

I quickly looked around me again to see if ther was anything that I could use to bust out of here. I looked in the first aid kit again hoping to find a syringe or...a pair of scissors!

I picked it up and looked at them. It wouldn't do much against a Strigoi, but maybe I could stun them for a bit like I did to Dimitri when he kept me prisoner. I changed into my clean jumpsuit and slipped the scissors up my sleeve next to my wrist, ready to slip out and use at any moment.

I knocked on the door and it opened. As luck would have it, and it was about time that I got some good luck around here, only two Strigoi were there to escort me back to my cell. I still had no idea were I was, or which way the exit was, or how many Strigoi that Tasha had lurking around here. But I was going for it.

They started walking with me in the front and the two Strigoi at my back and headed back to my cell. I slowly slipped the scissors out of my sleeve...when an idea suddenly occured to me. I looked down and noticed that the scissor blades were only held together by a metal screw...a metal screw that I would unwind...

I set to work un screwing them while I crept my head up and not looking down, which wasn't the easiest thing in the world. I was almost to my cell by now and running out of time! I started going faster! A bit more and...YES! The scissors came apart in my hands and I now had two weapons!

I waited until we were all outside of my cell. Then just as they opened up the door...without hesitating I spun around on my feet and plunged both of my makeshift scissor stakes up under there rib cages and in to their heart!

They let out a quite gasp before falling to the ground and I sprung into action! I only had about five minutes before they recovered enough to pull the scissors out of their chest and come after me, I pulled my cell door wide open and dragged both of them inside before closing it again. I wasn't sure how long that the cell bars would hold them, but it was better then nothing.

I still had no idea were I was but I wasn't about to stop and ask for directions. I ran as fast as my legs could take me down one corridor after the other. And oddly enough cell after cell. I realised that my first guess when I woke up here was correct. I had to be underground. And not just that, I was in an old underground prison! The Orange jumpsuit suddenly seemed for a more appropriate and cliched at the same time.

But I was still underground. And that meant that there was most likely only one way out of here. And if I didn't find it fast I was a dead duck!

Time was running out, how long had I been running for anyway? I turned another corner...when I saw what I hoped desperately was what I thought it was.

And elevator. I ran towards it and tried to open it...but of course things are never that easy. It had a pin code. And I had no idea what it could be. It looked like an older one, which meant that Tasha might not have been able to changed it to something she wanted. Which narrowed it down to about anything in the world!

I was desperate enough to try anyway and just entered in a bunch of random digits.

"Come on come on." I muttered as a red light came up telling me that my access had been denied. No. I was not about to go down like this! I had a baby to think off! And if I stayed here any longer then Tasha might find out and who knows what she might to to us then!

I got so frustrated at the next red light that I actually tried to pull the doors open by force. But it did no good.

"Hey you! Freeze!" I heard the male voice behind me call out. I spun around as saw that I had been found out.

I wanted more than anything right now to run up and pound my fist in to anything that moved...but being weaponless and newly pregnant I decided that fighting was probably not the best option. So I did the first thing that Dimitri told me to in these kind of situations.

I ran.

But since I was little more then a rat in a maze running didn't do me much good. It wasn't long after that I was backed in to a corner and surrounded by Strigoi. I had my fist raised, ready to fight...until Tasha walked forward.

"Well well well Rosemarie, you gave us all quite a scare just then." She said sounding oddly enough like a posh prison warden. "I applaud your effort, but sadly it just wasn't enough." And there was the cold smile and voice. I wanted nothing more then to try and take her out ...but it wasn't my life that I would be putting at risk.

I lowered my fist and showed her a small smile. "Can't blame a girl for trying."

A cold laugh. "Oh but I can."

And my blood ran cold. What was she going to do to me and my baby ?!

**Now wasn't that a nail biter hu? **

**What is Tasha going to do to Rose? **

**Will Dimitri get to her in time to save her and there unborn baby? **

**And will that dam talking Llama ever stop photo bombing my chapters? Stay tuned to find out;)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello! Well so many good reviews to choose from!**

** Thank you all and can I just say May the 4th be with you! **

**Haha sorry couldn't resist;) anyway **

**To Comrade'sRoza **

I should have a gun pointed at your head while you are writing the chapters to make sure you don't leave such mean cliffies Anyways it was great.

**A Pleasure writhing for you as always lol:) **

To VAGypsy

-

WHAT NOOOOOOO! you can't do that to me!  
You just can't! My breath catches, my fingers are frozen, looking around corners for Rose's escape and nah, nope nothing, I'm dead! Nooooo she's just figured out she is pregnant with Dimitri's baby and Tasha gets her dirty paws on her again. I bet Dimitri is tearing every door off, looking for rose! But hey, way to go Abe! Doing everything he can for his daughter. Pls update soon, ur killing me here! No really! As in dead, on the floor! *lifts head and peaks around* is tha llama back yet?! Crack up!

**Ha! You make me smile:) **

**And once again thank you to my temporary beta stardreamer2608. One day delivery what!)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything and all that Jazz! **

_"Well well well Rosemarie, you gave us all quit a scare just then." She said sounding oddly enough like a posh prison warden. "I applaud your effort, but sadly it just wasn't enough." And there was the cold smile and voice. I wanted nothing more then to try and take her out ...but it wasn't my life that I would be putting at risk.  
_

_I lowered my fist and showed her a small smile. "Can't blame a girl for trying."  
_

_A cold laugh. "Oh but I can." _

_And my blood ran cold. What was she going to do to me and my baby ?!_

Christian's POV

I slammed the phone shut again in anger, why the hell wasn't he answering?!

"Calm down Chris, we will find a way to tell him." Lissa said as she put a calming hand on my chest. Ever since finding out that the pregnancy test was Rose's everyone had been trying, unsuccessfully, to contact and tell Dimitri. But either out of stubbornness or inability, he wasn't answering his damn phone!

"I just feel so helpless! I mean if the roles were reversed, and you were pregnant I would want to know the second that you did! And as if Rose's life being in danger wasn't bad enough, now we have to add the baby into the equation!" I walked over and threw my self onto the couch. Lissa walked over and sat next to me.

"I know how you feel. It's not only my best friend out there that's life is in constant danger, but her baby that shouldn't even be possible! I mean, what if this was there only chance of having a kid? There should have been no possible way that Rose could get pregnant by Dimitri, and yet it happened. And if they loose the baby they might loose there only chance of having a family." Lissa said as tears started forming in her eyes.

"It'll be ok Liss. You know that Dimitri isn't going to stop at anything until he gets Rose back. And that once Rose realizes that she's pregnant it's going to be like fighting against a force of nature." I said slipping in to comforting husband mode. Lissa just let out a tired breath.

"I hope so."

_Yeah, me too.  
_

DPOV

_"Сукин сын!" _(Son of a bitch!" I swear as I watched my phone get smashed under the wheel of some skater punk who apparently didn't have good enough eye sight to not run in to the 6'7 Russian walking on the foot path!

"Damn man I'm real sorry!" The skater punk said quickly as he picked himself up off of the ground and looked over my smashed phone.

"Next time watch where your going!" I yelled angrily. As I looked my phone over in his hands. It was an iPhone,so naturally the screen was smashed to non existence. But more then that, when the skateboard wheel skidded over my phone the insides had become its outsides, and I couldn't have located my SIM card if I tried!

I was wearing what I was sure was a murderous look as I took my phone out of the kids hands. I would normally handle my anger better and not loose my temper like I was now. But this kid had just destroyed my only contact back to court. Not that I had exactly been keeping regular contact with them to began with, but now I couldn't call them when I found out new information and vice versa.

"Please don't hit me! I...I'll bye you a new one I promise!" The kid...well kid compared to me, said looking like he was just about to make a mess in his pants.

I made myself take a deep breath and calm down. Court may not be able to call me anymore, but I had memorised Lissa's personal phone number long ago incase something like this ever happened, and could just call her when I had something to report.

"Whatever, just watch where your going next time alright." I said and walked away without a second look.

I was in a mid sized town that I had hitched hiked to after I interrogated the Strigoi a few days ago. I wasn't making nearly as good time as I wanted and was seriously considering just hot wiring a car and driving to where I though that Rose was being held. But the only problem with that idea what that even though I had the right direction to head in, I still didn't have anything specific to go on. So I had to try and catch whatever gossip that I could when I passed from town to town, and that was time consuming. Something that my Roza didn't have very much of.

I knew that the mini swarm that Tasha left on the surface to distract us was due to attack in a few days, and I was hoping that I could find Tasha's hide out by then and hit them at the same time. But at the speed that I was moving I didn't think that was going to happen. I just didn't have any leads, and now, with my Phone broken I didn't have anyone to call back at court for a favour.

And that just left me with one option. Capture and torture.

Except that there weren't any Strigoi in this town. Or in the world for that matter. The only ones still alive after Roza set off the bio bomb was the ones that Tasha turned herself. I had gotten lucky with the last one because he had gotton separated form his group. So what did I do now?

I walked over to a huge tree in a park area and sat down on a bench and pulled out an old western book. I smiled as a wave of memory's of Roza's endless teasing about my obsession with them washed over me. Her sarcasm aside, I did my best thinking when I was burying my mind in my books. I had read them so many times that I only half paid attention to what I had in my hands while the rest of my mind wandered and, usually solved my problems.

And this time was no different. After only about ten minutes of reading I had my answer. Tasha had most of her swarm with her where ever she was hiding. And that meant that they had to be feeding. So all I had to do was find out which town had the most disappearances in it and I would be able to capture a Strigoi and make him or her tell me were there hideout was!

I pulled out the big paper map that I brought along with me and looked around. Maddenten was the biggest town in this area. So the disappearances would be less noticeable there.

Tasha was smart, and would probably know not to make such a predictable move. She probably had her base somewhere outside the town and away from people, so she wouldn't get found out. But an easy enough running distance to the town for feeding.

Making up my mind I folded up my map and set to work on finding a car to hot wire. I would head to Maddenten and hunt down every Strigoi in that whole town if that's what it took! But I wasn't coming back to court if it wasn't with my Roza by my side.

RPOV

I was thrown, none to gently, back into my cell and my first instead was not to land on my stomach! But lucky for the baby Dimitri had taught me how to fall properly without hurting my self and I landed on my side while my arm took most of the fall.

"Well Rosemarie." Tasha said as she walked into my cell like she owned the place. And for all I knew she did, and started talking like she was a disappointed teacher scolding me for miss behaving in class again. And sounding remarkably like headmistress Kirova in the process, I thought with and amused smirk for a second.

"It seems as though you have out done yourself this time. I always knew you were good, with your mother being who she is and you having Dimka as your mentor how could you not excel? Not to mention that you managed to escape your encounter at Spokane unscathed-"

Unscathed? She thinks that loosing the life of one of my best friends is escaping unscathed!

"-always knew that you wouldn't be an easy prisoner to hold for long, but I must say that you most certainly did catch my man underwear ." She continued in a much colder voice. "But they have been dealt with, and now you must be."

I held my breath. I wasn't above begging if it would keep me and the baby alive. But I wasn't surt what Tasha had in store for me just yet, so I decided to say nothing.

"Oh is the famous Rose Hathaway learning to bite her tongue in the presence of her betters? My my my you can teach an old _bitch_ new tricks now can't you?" She said with a cold smile.

"Never the less you must be punished for your escape attempt. I was going to go a bit lenient on you and skip your punishment for today. But after that little demonstration of your current physical health, I think that you can handle it. So take it like a big girl." As she finished talking. A few of her minions walked into my cell and lifted me up roughly by the arms and carried me over to my bed. I didn't struggle. I couldn't risk one of them trying to teach me a lesson and hitting me somewhere that I couldn't afford to be hit.

They took me over to my bed and chained me to it. For a moment I was relieved. If it was just going to be waster torture then there was no danger to the baby. But then I realised that they wanted me to lie face down on my mattress.

CRAP! It was a new one. But at lest my stomach was out of the firing line. I heard a bit more moving around before things suddenly became quiet, just like last time when Tasha cut me all over.

"Tell me Rosemarie. Have you ever experienced acupuncture?" Tasha asked from what sounded like right next to me.

Acupuncture? Wasn't that supposed to be good for you?

"No." I hated needles,everyone that knew me knew better then to try and convince me to get one. I was famous for putting up the biggest fight possible if ever anyone wanted to take me to the medical centre when I hurt myself. Did Tasha know about my hatred/ fear? If so then she picked out the perfect punishment.

"Well it is an old Chinese method of curing sore muscles and other aliments. The process is actually quite simple. You just put a needle in the right place for the right amount of time and your cured." I heard Tasha fiddling around with something while she talked and it made me nervous. And for good reason judging by where this conversation was going.

"But unfortunately for you the same method can be applied to inflict severe pain in ones victims. All I need to do is stick a needle in the wrong place and you will be paralysed for life."

No! I felt a rush of panic take over my body! If I'm paralysed then I can't escape and Tasha will kill my baby once I get big enough for her to notice that I have one! I was just about to grovel and beg, to hell with my pride, when Tasha kept talking.

"But were would the fun be in having a helpless victim? Not to mention if I did that then you would lose all feeling in your legs and that would only leave me with half of your body to play with."

I breathed out a sigh of relief. I still had a chance to escape. But sadly my relief was premature.

"So instead I'm just going to temporarily paralyze you. And if you ever try to escape again I will make it permanent." Tasha bent down so that she could look me in the eyes, and for the first time I didn't try and hide the panic that I was feeling. I didn't know a whole lot about acupuncture, but if she stuck a needle in the wrong place could it hurt my baby? Could I have a miscarriage? Never be able to get pregnant again? Oh poor Dimitri! He might never be able to meet his baby before it's ripped away from him forever!

"My...my legs?" I asked in a shaky voice. If she focused on my legs then that wouldn't hurt my stomach right? Unless she hurt my spine. But she only wanted this time to be temporary. And that meant that she couldn't do to much damage, this time anyway, right?

"Oh yes, sorry but you won't be able to do any running for a while." Tahsa said with a grin as I felt the first needle go in to my calf muscle.

It hurt so much that I almost passed out. I just kept telling myself as the needle went in deeper that it was going to be ok, that my legs didn't matter as long as she didn't hurt my stomach. The next needle went into my other calf muscle and I felt pain followed by numbness, and the I really did black out.

I woke up I have no idea how much later, still laying on my bed, but thankfully not chained. I sat up and went to swing my legs over the edge of the bed to get up...when I couldn't.

At first I wondered why and tried again...until my memory kicked back into gear.

Tasha had paralyzed me.

I fell back into my bed and just stared at the ceiling, my mind going blank as it struggled to except what was happening to me. I distantly noticed that the tap was dripping again.

My mind instantly went to my stomach. I had no idea if what Tasha did to me would hurt my baby, and the thought of it slowly dying before it even had a chance to take it's first breath nearly made me cry out. But the last thing that I wanted right now was to draw more attention to myself.

I heard some noise by the door and from the smell of it I would say that it was dinner. So that ment that I had been unconscious for most of the day. My stomach growled and I desperately hoped that that was a sign that the baby was ok.

I realised after I heard retreating footsteps that they weren't going to bring my food to me. _Well this is going to be fun! _I though sarcastically as I used the momentum from my arms and shoulders to roll myself out of bed and land on my other side. I may have been out of training for a while, but my arm muscles were more then up to the challenge of dragging myself across the floor and getting my food.

The food may not taste any better then a cooked leathery boot, but there was lots of it and I was now eating for two, so I scoffed the lot down and, thankfully, didn't throw up. I guess it was called morning sickness for a reason. _I was going to have fun running to the bathroom now_ I thought bitterly.

I propped myself up into a sitting position as best I could and thought about how to handle my situation. I was held captive, I was alone and unarmed, and I was not only newly pregnant but newly paralyzed. So my outlook wasn't that great.

Tasha had said that my paralysis was only temporary so at least I had that going for me. But my first priority was now making sure that none of the tortures that happened to me hurt my baby. So I had to get Tasha to pick one that wasn't to bad. But I sure as hell couldn't suggest any because then Tasha would definitely know that there was something up. But I had to make Tasha think of a torture that wasn't bad enough to hurt the baby, but would still classify as a torture. And I had to make her think that it was her idea_ and_ that it was the worst one that she could do to me so she stuck with it.

_Not an easy list of criteria's to meet. _Iheard the tap dripping again and suddenly I had it! Water torture! Though it wouldn't exactly be a picnic for me, it didn't matter, it wasn't going to hurt the baby, and that was the most important thing. Now how to get Tasha to pick that one over the many others that I knew she wanted to try?

The answer? Beg for any other torture but that one. I smiled as I thought that before I grimaced. It would have to be a convincing performance, not that that wasn't something that I had trouble pulling off, in fact it was mostly how I manage to make it through high school. Though I certainly wasn't in the habit it of begging, I would swallow my pride and do it. For my and Dimitri's baby I would do anything.

**Uaa ooh Rose is in big trouble now! **

**Is Tasha going to play into Roses hands or is Rose in for a rued wake up call? **

**And will Dimitri ever make it to rescues Rose or would she be better off asking the talking Llama? Review and I'll update sooner!? **


	17. Chapter 17

**IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY! But I'm half way threw moving house so I have a lot on my plate right now! But here it is and I would just like to say welcome back to my beta Rocio3452 I missed you baby! **

**And now for some review highlights!**

Alex chapter 16 . May 6

YOU BITCH

U MADE ME CRY OK?

I WANNA KILL U NOW !

THIS IS SO F***ING PERFECT AND EMOTIONAL OMGGGG I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY!

Anyways keep going i love it

**Happy to help:)**

Alex chapter 16 . May 5

Whats wrong with you woman?! How could you leave it there? Dont you have no heart?! have a heart and update

I will send a professional assassin to hunt you down if you dont update soon! You better lock your door!

**I've said it before and I'll say it again. I love death threats!**

Comrade'sRoza chapter 16 . May 4

I think that you took the threat seriously this time .. no mean cliffies. But I wouldn't hesitate to put a knife to your throat if you do it again :P It was awesome . Really excited to read the next chapter !

**Just wait until the end of this chapter lol...**

Guest chapter 16 . May 4

I am this close to giving that llama a silver stake so it can go kill Tasha and all of her henchmen.. Seriously, Tasha will fall into Roses hands and Dimitri will save Rose and their baby! Btw they should have a boy and name it Ivan. Remember the armed llama might even go and attack YOU if you dont update soon, SO HURRY UP AND STOP THE CLIFFIES! ok thanks :)

**Aaaaa little they know that the llama is really working for me...**

ilovesos9467 chapter 16 . May 4

I think that if Rose makes it obvious by begging for anything but the water torture, Tasha would figure it out but if Rose muttered it, like she didn't want Tasha to hear it, Tasha would think that Rose really didn't want the water torture.

Update soon!

**Wait and see...**

Rocio3452 chapter 16 . May 4

More like May the 4th be with Rose because looks like Tasha is wayyyy past the normal human/vampire craziness bar. She's absolutely crazy. And your talking llama better know self defense because Dimitri's gonna go on a rampage when he learns that Rose is pregnant. Poor Rose but her bluffing and tempting skills are the best so I hope Tasha will give her the water torture again. Can't wait for the next chapter!

**Disclaimer...looked real didn't it?**

_The answer? Beg for any other torture but that one, I smiled as I thought that before I grimaced. It would have to be a convincing performance, not that that wasn't something that I had trouble pulling off, in fact it was mostly how I manage to make it through high school. Though I certainly wasn't in the habit it of begging, I would swallow my pride and do it. For my and Dimitri's baby, I would do anything._

LPOV

"I've got it!"

I looked up shocked as Ivan burst through the doors and into my meeting room closely followed by Violet and Sydney.

"Got what?" I asked standing up and walking over to them.

"A way to help Dimka find Rose!" Ivan said with a huge grin spreading across his face.

"We _think_ we have a way for Dimitri to find Rose," Sydney said as she walked up besides Ivan looking excited but also professional, like she always did just before she was about to explain something brilliant that was going to solve all of our problems.

"Well don't just leave us hanging, tell us what you've got!" Christian cried as he jumped out of the chair that he was sitting on and walked up to Ivan.

"Well I decided to run a few test on Ivan's blood now that he was back and compare it to his old Strigoi blood that he used to make the bio bomb to see if there were any common denominators incase we ever got a sample of the new Strigoi strain to compare it with. When I realized that the basic genetic make up that made up the Strigoi blood group as a whole wasn't really all that different!," Sydney also getting excited.

"And that means what exactly?" Christian asked reading my mind.

"It means that Sydney can build a Strigoi tracker!" Ivan cried out in joy.

"It means that _in theory_ I can build a _small_ hand held tracker that can detect a person with the same genetic structure in their blood as a Strigoi."

"You built a Strigoi tracker?" I asked amazed.

"I haven't tried any real world testing yet, but it successfully tracked down Ivan based solely on his blood structure and type. So I was thinking that if I give this to Hans when he goes on the raid tonight and it finds the swarm before they do, then we can send one with Abe's elite team when they set off to find Dimitri. Then he won't be searching blind."

We could Hunt down the Strigoi with only their blood type? It sounded too good to be true.

"How accurate do you think this is Sydney? I can't risk leading the entire team off track because they were following bad directions off of something that hasn't even had any real testing." I hated to ruin our best lead so far, but wiping out this mini swarm was a priority right now with how public they were becoming and I couldn't put my personal feelings and my need to find Rose before the needs of keeping the existence of the Strigoi a secret from the humans.

"Sadly I can't give you any solid statistics. But so far I would say fifty fifty," Sydney said looking disappointed that she couldn't give me anything better to go on than that.

"Sydney... I don't think-"

"Can't they at least take it with them?" Ivan all but I screamed. "I mean they can do everything that they normally do on a mission but just have someone looking down at it every now and then to see if it does anything? Rose is out there somewhere pregnant and hurt and Dimka is out there somewhere trying to find her! We need to do something now!" Ivan cried while Violet came up beside him and put her arms around his shoulders.

"Please Lissa, all we're asking is a chance. They already know roughly what town they're going to hit. The Strigoi tracker couldn't lead them off track anymore than a few miles."

I thought about it for a few seconds before letting out a breath.

"Alright. But they're just going to observe what the tracker does and then report it back to us. I'm not taking any changes in wiping these guys out," I said, feeling a headache come on.

Before the sentence even fully left my mouth, I was swept up in a big hug by Ivan. "Thank you Lissa you won't regret this," he said into my hair as he hugged me. I hugged him back, after all, we both wanted the same thing. _To get Rose and Dimitri back here safely where they belonged. _

RPOV

"Rise and shine sleeping beauty." I heard a voice call out from next to me. I hadn't bothered to drag myself back to my bed last night, what was the point? It's not like I could sleep on it anymore without thinking of being tortured.

I moved over, slowly looking at my breakfast and, thankfully, realizing that I didn't feel the need to throw up today. I wonder how far along my pregnancy was exactly. I heard that morning sickness lasted for up to three months. Did that mean that I was three months pregnant? Or did I just not get morning sickness as much as some women?

I shook my head. It didn't matter, right now I wasn't big enough to start showing with this big jumpsuit on so I was safe for now. I started eating my breakfast and, experimentally started wiggling my toes. Nothing.

I guess temporarily meant more than a day. But I did feel the occasional tingle so that was a good sign. I needed to think of a better exit route anyway, running around the prison blindly didn't really work out well the last time. And if I got court again then my paralysis wouldn't become so temporary.

I had been thinking of a way to convince Tasha of making my next few torture sessions water torture and think that it was her idea and a good one. The only problem was that if it worked then it wouldn't start until tomorrow. I just had to hold my breath and hope that today wouldn't be anything that did hurt my stomach.

To pass the time and hopefully speed up my recovery time, I started massaging my leg muscles and trying to flex them. I then moved around until my feet were pushing against the wall so that I could try and push against it with my legs. It was slow going and I didn't notice much improvement by the time that lunch arrived. But it was a start. And I needed to get back on my feet as soon a possible so that I could make my break. And I doubt that any of the Strigoi would be willing to carry me out...

Just then I heard footsteps and knew that my time was up. Well here go's nothing!

Tasha walked into my cell.

"Well hello Rosemarie. I trust that you slept well. I'm sure that having half of your body paralyzed made you quite sleepy indeed," she said with a smile, before a disgusted look crossed her face.

"Just look at you. Weak and pathetic. You should be thanking me for taking you away from Dimka when I did. If he saw you now he would be asking himself what he was doing wasting his time with you."

"At least he chose to be with me," I snapped back. If I broke too soon, it would look suspicious.

"Oh look it's time for your next torture, how fun for you!" Tasha said in a cheery voice again and I purposely flinched.

"W...what is it today?" I asked letting a little fear creep into my voice.

"Well since you responded so well to water torture..."

Again I flinched. But more noticeable this time.

"I was thinking of another oriental torture method." As usual, her minions walked into the cell behind her and picked me up, and this time tied me in a chair.

"Bamboo is such a versatile material don't you think? After all you can do so many things with it. You can cut it, shape it, mold it, build things, make weapons. You can make foundations for a house, even buld the house! You can do almost anything with it. And there are so many different types! And I also hear that they are even making an entire industry out of bamboo pillows of all things! But do you know what else that bamboo can be used for?" she asked as she walked over to me with a sharpened bamboo stick.

I shook my head. I had a bad feeling about this...

"Well if you sharpen the tips down there it's quite an effective torture method and it's very simple too," she said as she walked over to me.

"All you need to do is grab a sharpened stick, stick it under your fingernails like this..." she said as she shoved the sharp end in between my finger and my nail, and it hurt!

"Ahhhh!" I cried out not even bothering to try and hide it.

Tasha actually laughed at my screams. "I told you that it was useful stuff," she laughed as she twisted the bamboo around. I tried to think positive and tell myself that this was good because it wouldn't hurt the baby. But right now my mind was only registering pain.

Tasha repeated the process for every one of my fingers and by the end of it, my throat was raw from screaming.

"Well how did you like today's punishment mm?" Tahsa asked in a sing song tone of voice.

This was it! It was now or never!

"Anythings better than water torture," I muttered just loud enough for her to hear but quiet enough so she thought otherwise.

"What was that?" Tahsa asked.

I pretended to be afraid and looked away. "N...nothing," I said and shrunk my body down and made it look as small as possible like I was really trying to hide from her.

"No no I want to hear what you think?" Tahda said with excitement her voice. "So you didn't like the water torture huh?" She was smiling like a kid who had just found the golden ticket to Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory.

"Well I'm a firm believer in facing up to the things that you don't like. So how about we have another few go's at water torture and see if your relationship gets any better, now how does that sound?" she asked but it was purely rhetorical.

"No," I whispered because, again, if I kicked up too much of a stink she wouldn't buy it. Man this wasn't as easy as it looked on TV.

"See you tomorrow Rosemarie," Tasha called out happily as her minions pulled me out of the chair and onto the ground.

_Well, aside fro__m the painful torture, that went pretty well,_ I thought sarcastically as I curled up around myself. I was on the verge of passing out from all of the pain and my body was shutting down. But I couldn't help but be happy that my plan had worked. That my baby was safe. For now.

But that wouldn't last for long. I had to find a way out of here and soon. My appetite was already growing and they were already giving me more than enough to live on. And I certainly couldn't ask for more because then Tasha might decide to take food off of me altogether and I couldn't afford that.

Deciding that it could wait until tomorrow , I finally gave into body's demands and went to sleep.

DPOV

"_And the authorities are still baffled by the cause of this senseless destruction and are looking into the possibilities of a new street drug that makes people act unstable and prone to violence outbursts and destructive behaviour. Police are urging any citizen that might know anything to please call the number at the bottom of the screen-"_

I switched the TV off. I had had all that I could take. Hans was due to attack the mini swarm yesterday. Why hadn't he done it? Something was up back at Court, and I couldn't call and ask what it was because my phone got trashed by a skater jerk! He was probably working for a talking llama or something.** (HA)**

Shaking my head, I went to go and take a shower before I started hunting. I had reached hot-wired a car and finally made it to Seattle and was about to go out and see if I could catch and interrogate any Strigoi for information. It was probably a good thing that my phone didn't work anymore, who knew how deep that the spy had gotten this time. For all I knew, my phone had been bugged like the others. And it's not like I had anything to report to them anyway. And they sure didn't have anything new to tell me. In the month that I've been hunting Rose, I've gotten at least twice as far as they have.

Making up my mind, I decided not to call Court unless I had something urgent to tell them. I was getting more done on my own anyway. I relaxed as the hot water hit my shoulders. I had a lot of knots building up lately for obvious reasons and wished that Rose was here. She gives me the best, and most sensual, massages. I smiled at the memory before shutting off the water and getting out. I couldn't afford to get side tracked. I had work to do.

I sipped on my duster and hit the first club I saw, I would stay up all night if that's what it took. I wasn't leaving here until I had a lead on where to find my poor Roza.

RPOV

I woke up to the familiar feeling of needing to throw up. It's a good thing that I made sure that I was close to the toilet before I passed out last night.

After I wiped my face and looked longingly up at my toothbrush that I couldn't reach, I dragged myself over to eat breakfast. It went down easy enough, but what happened next kind of ruined my appetite.

"A bit early for you isn't it?" I asked Tasha sarcastically when I saw her standing outside of my cell.

"Good morning Rosemarie. Yes, we are getting an early start to the day, and do you know why?" she asked with a too big of a grin on her face that looked all wrong.

"Today were starting your extended water torture!" she said like she was some amazing prize that I had won. And don't tell her but one that I actually wanted.

But I played my part and acted terrified because while I did want this to ensure the safety of my baby, that didn't mean I was going to enjoy it.

I got picked up and dragged over to get chained to my bed. I guess I was going to have to get creative with my leg exercises today. The Strigoi minions set up the machine and just like always, the water started dripping on my head. The same place every time.

"Well I'll just leave you to it. I'll come back tonight to see how well you two are getting along," Tahsa said walking out with an evil laugh, I mean a real evil laugh! The kind that you hear from cartoon villains! Did she actually practice that?

I was all alone with the water and my ever growing anger.

Three hours later

_This was going to be a fun day, _I thought sarcastically since I was alone this time...or at least I thought I was...

"Hello," said a voice from besides me. One I vaguely recognized but couldn't pinpoint. I tried to turn my head but the restraints were too tight.

"Who's there?" I asked softly hoping that Tasha didn't decide to add a new element to the water torture.

"It's me," the male voice said as he walked over to me so that I could get a good look at his face...and I recognized him.

"SAM! "I shouted in surprise.

"Hey Rose, long time no see," he said giving me a shy smile.

I was utterly speechless because I knew him! Nothing weird about that right? I mean Tasha had made it her personal mission to hunt down all of my old friends and either hurt or kill and turn them. So running into one that I knew in their stronghold wasn't all that strange right?

WRONG! Because not only did I know him...oh no. I knew him from BEFORE!

Back when I had been been turned Strigoi by Ivan and had rigged the bio bome to do genocide on the entire Strigoi race!

**On my things are getting interesting now aren't they? Sorry that this story had been getting a little dull latly, but I promise that it's going to start picking up now:) **

**So who's Sam? How can Rose know him form before?**

**What's happening back at court that Dimitri doesn't like?**

**And is the talking llama really the spy? Find out next chapter! If you review! **


	18. Chapter 18

**Ok guys you wanted it so here it is!**

From: Comrade'sRoza

Do you actually have no sense of self preservation at all ? T- H- R- E- A- T . You get them from everyone and yet you leave cliffies . I seriously need to come to your place with a gun and a knife to install some self preservation in you so you stop leaving such cliffies . Anyways , could you speed up the story a bit ?

**Wish granted! **

From: Alex (Guest)

Alex:Really happy that i saw my name not once, but twice  
good to know you love my reviwes!

Really? ugh Really?  
YOU GONNA LEAVE IT THERE!  
HOW DARE YOU?  
you are so DEAD !  
I am going to MURDER you, to DEATH!  
Who the f*** hell is SAM!  
I wanna know  
we all wanna know  
so here is an idea:  
UP-f***-DATE  
please

**Ha love you too! Hopefully this chapter will answer everything...or will it?**

From: ALex (Guest)

ALex:Hey its me again  
your little reviewer  
i just wanted to say:  
M*** UPDATE ALREADY!  
YOU GOT ME HERE SITTING IN FRONT OF THIS STUPID A** LAPTOP WAITING FOR AN UPDATE  
on another note this is you 200th review :) you deserve it

**AAAAA I didn't evan notice! Thank you all so much!**

**This disclaimer got out to all of you! **

_This was going to be a fun day, I thought sarcastically since I was alone this time...or at least I thought I was..._

_"Hello," said a voice from besides me. One I vaguely recognized but couldn't pinpoint. I tried to turn my head but the restraints were too tight._

_"Who's there?" I asked softly hoping that Tasha didn't decide to add a new element to the water torture. _

_"It's me," the male voice said as he walked over to me so that I could get a good look at his face...and I recognized him._

_"SAM! "I shouted in surprise. _

_"Hey Rose, long time no see," he said giving me a shy smile._

_I was utterly speechless because I knew him! Nothing weird about that right? I mean Tasha had made it her personal mission to hunt down all of my old friends and either hurt or kill and turn them. So running into one that I knew in their stronghold wasn't all that strange right? _

_WRONG! Because not only did I know him...oh no. I knew him from BEFORE!_

_Back when I had been been turned Strigoi by Ivan and had rigged the bio bome to do genocide on the entire Strigoi race!_

Tasha's POV

I smiled as I walked down the halls of what had become Rose's personal hell, feeling rather pleased with myself and the way that things were going. Rose was responding very well to the torture and was getting more unstable by the day...and she was also eating her weight in food to compensate for it. I wasn't sure whether I should cut her food off altogether to make her suffer, or give her even more so that she would be as fat as a cow by the time Dimka saw her again. I smiled even more at that thought. She was never good enough for him anyway. And after I was finished with her, he would finally see it and beg me to take him back.

And what a sight he would be coming back to. So far, my plan couldn't be running smoother. I had tormented and kidnapped Rose, I was holding her hostage while my people were wreaking havoc on the surface, anyone back at Court that could actually do anything to stop me was too distracted with saving Rose to see what was really going on right under their noises; and just in case someone magically did find something out that they shouldn't... well that was where my spy came in handy.

_Ring ring. _

Speaking of which...

I pulled out my phone and made a quick hand movement to indicate that I wanted to be alone. Instantly, every Strigoi around me vanished and I smiled again. It was good to be the Queen...

"Report," I said as I picked up the phone. Only one person had this number, and they knew better than to ring me if it wasn't important.

"Mistress, something unexpected has come up that may get in the way of your plans," they said getting straight to the point. I had no time for small talk and flattery. And the less that they talked to me, the better.

"Explain."

"Sydney Sage has built a Strigoi tracker."

"What!?" I said outraged. I knew that I should have done away with that silly little girl when I had the chance.

"A device that can track down the whereabouts of Strigoi," they said again. As if I had trouble understanding the first time. Fool.

"Does it work?" I asked already thinking of ways to stop this in it's tracks.

"It seems to. She tested it on Ivan."

"How accurate is it?"

"She claimed a 50/50 chance but it only had the one test and that wasn't even on a real Strigoi. But their Queen has granted permission for the team to take it with them when they attack the 'mini swarm' as they're calling it. If it picks up their scent then she will send it to Dimitri to help him track you down...if she can find him."

Ok...this wasn't as bad as it could have been, but that still left it pretty bad. If my Dimka found me before I was ready then he could mess everything up. And I couldn't let that happen.

"Can you get access to it?" I asked already coming up with a plan.

"Yes. Do you want me to destroy it?"

"No. Then she could just build another. You need to make it so that it reads the signs wrong. If they think that it doesn't work then they will go back to the drawing board and give me more time to complete my plans."

"It will be done mistress."

I ended the call there. No point in talking; only acton gets things done. I walked back to my room and locked the door behind me. I wanted silence while I worked and didn't want to be interrupted. I also didn't want any of my minions to see my plans and get any ideas of their own. I needed to rule with an iron fist if I was going to be their Queen.

RPOV

"How the hell are you still alive?" I asked shocked beyond belief. The bio bomb was spread worldwide. There was no way that any Strigoi could have of survived it, I mean it stayed in the air for a long time, so even if Sam was underwater for a week, it still should have killed him!

He casually shrugged his shoulders. "I was being punished when you were doing all of that bomb stuff remember?" he asked and I could tell that he was replaying it in his mind.

I did remember. You see Sam wasn't like every other Strigoi out there. No. Because unlike me who was killed and then brought back which made my genes shadow kissed and therefore unique, Sam's DNA had been different since the moment that he was born. And that was because he had Autism. That meant a lot, but mostly it meant that he had always been different from the other Strigroi. He didn't kill out of fun, only necessity, he didn't like to fight, and he actually missed the sun.

We were alike in many ways and I had actually considered him a friend...well as much of a friend as a Strigoi could be considered anyway. But because of his differences, the other Strigoi often ganged up on him and caused a lot of problems. Luckily by then, I had gained command and had the authority to transfer him out of the mansion that was our base of operation. But that didn't explain how he was still alive.

"But the gas went worldwide! How come it didn't wipe you out?" I asked still amazed at who was standing in front of me.

"You sent me where there weren't any other Strigoi around," he said looking almost hurt, like I had wanted to get rid of him because I found him annoying.

"You were getting hurt by the others, I didn't like seeing you get beat up like that, I had to get you out of there," I said in my defense.

"And you couldn't have sent me anywhere nicer?" he asked like a little kid who didn't understand why he was sent to his room for being naughty.

"Well...it was never going to last for long..." I said feeling bad that I had signed his execution orders when I had set off the bomb. But he was a Strigoi, and needed to be wiped out regardless of me kind of liking him.

"But at least you were safe away from the others," I said to try to argue my case.

"Yeah well the only place in the world where there weren't anymore Strigoi to bother me was Antarctica. I was snowed in an igloo for three months! The only reason that I survived was that I had a continuous supply of fish that kept jumping through a small hole in the ice. By the time that I got out, I guess that your gas ran out and didn't affect me anymore," he said as he sat down in a near by chair.

"What did you do after you got back and realized that you were the last of your kind?" I asked after he had gone silent for a while. One thing about Sam, he could get lost in his head for hours at a time and never even notice. If I didn't talk to him he may very well forget that I'm even here.

He shrugged his shoulders again. "Not much. I stuck to the shadows. Ate when I had to. And went to go and see the new Star Wars movie!" he said in excited voice, like this was a very important part of his story.

"That's nice. So what are you doing with Tasha's group? I thought that you didn't like senseless killing," I said wondering if the gas had changed him for the worse somehow.

"I got lonely," he said sadly. "And...well I didn't know what to do with myself. I came across Tasha's swarm and she just assumed that I was turned by one of her minions, so I just came along for the ride."

"Why are you talking to me now?" I asked when a haunted look crossed his face. I really felt sorry to the guy. He wasn't any older then me and he had lived such a hard life before he had been turned that I really wanted to help him.

"I thought that you might be lonely too. Tasha doesn't want anyone talking to you. But everyone thinks that I'm too stupid to do anything right around here so they haven't given me a job to do. So I figured why not."

Sam was a genius in many areas but was completely hopeless in others, and as a result, people often gave him the stereotype of being stupid and thought of him as a piece of furniture. How wrong they are.

"Thank you, but why didn't you come to see me sooner?"

"I had to wait until no one was watching your camera screen," Sam said shrugging again.

HA! I knew that they would give up eventually. Now would be a good time to make my escape, if I wasn't half paralyzed and chained to my bed that is.

"Do you think that you could help me break out of here?" I asked suddenly and hopefully. If I was going to have any friends here then it was going to be Sam.

"Why should I, you sent me to go live with penguins!" Sam said angrily like a stubborn child. Aaaaahhh I forgot how hard it was dealing with him sometimes. He was brilliant at so many things, but sometimes he really didn't know when to keep his mouth shut. And that had gotten him into most of his fights back at the mansion.

"Because if you do then I can take you to someone that can make you a human again," I said with a smile. Sam hated the taste of blood and missed real food. An autistic thing apparently, and I knew that he really missed the sun so I was hoping that that would be enough for him to help me out.

"Really!?" he asked, a big smile breaking out across his face.

"Really."

"Pinky promise?" he asked like a little kid again and held up his pinky finger.

"If you come over here then it's a pinky promise," I said with a smile. He did just that and as far as he was concerned, we had just signed a legally binding contract. Sam trusted so much, but in the Strigoi world, that would just get him burned.

"So first things first, could you stop this damn dripping?" I asked not wanting to be struck here with the water dripping into my head any longer.

"Ok." Sam walked over to me and pushed the machine far enough away for the water to miss my head.

_Aaaah much better. _

"I can't undo the chains without people knowing," Sam said sadly.

"I know. But we can still make an escape plan," I said happily. "So do you have any ideas? Because my last attempt didn't go down so well," I asked, having spent all of the past month...or however long I've been here anyway, trying to come up with something. A new perspective would be welcome.

"Oh I know, you didn't plan it all the way through. And now you can't walk. It will make things much more difficult."

I experimentally stretched my legs and realized that I did have the slightest feeling back in them. But nowhere near being able to move them.

"Can't you just break the chains and carry me out the door?" I asked wondering what was so complicated.

"There are far too many of them for me to outrun. And I don't have the codes for the door. We need to think this through," Sam said in a calculating voice.

"Anything I can do to help?" I asked.

I waited for a reply, but he went quiet for so long that I thought that he hadn't heard me. Just as I was about to repeat myself he said,

"Yes." And that was all. I moved my eyes over as far as possible and saw Sam sitting with his eyes closed, but his eyes were moving behind his eyelids like he was having a dream. And his hands were moving about like he was putting together an imaginary jigsaw puzzle.

"What are you-"

"Shhh I'm thinking," was all he said, deep in thought. He stayed like that for over ten minutes and I was starting to wonder if he was going to be a reliable ally, when suddenly his eyes snapped open.

"It will work," he said confidently.

"What will?" I asked wondering where he was going with this.

"My plan. It will work." Again he sounded so confident.

"Do you want to clue me in on what it is?" I asked finally when he want silent again. He may be a genius in strategies (which was why he was turned even though he was human) but he still had no idea how to hold a decent conversation.

"There is a girl here. Her name is Ann. She looks like you."

I blinked in surprise. This wasn't what I was expecting to hear. "Really?" I asked because I didn't know what else to say.

Sam nodded. "I think that's why Tasha turned her, besides her hair, you're almost her twin. Tasha is very mean to her, she hits her a lot and makes fun of her because of it. She's actually going to be your next torture. Seeing someone who looks so much like you getting hurt, Tasha wanted to do all of that to you, but you wouldn't last long that way."

"Ok, so how is she going to help us escape?" I asked not following where he was going with this.

"You're going to pretend to be her."

"...pretend to be a Strigoi...?" I asked again just to be clear.

"Yes," Sam said like he didn't see the problem."Just like you did last time."

_ Damn déjà vu..._

"Well in case you didn't notice, I don't exactly look like the Strigoi type. I mean last time sure I had the pale skin, the eyes and I drank blood. But this time I don't have any of those things. Not to mention that I'm preg-" I cut myself off mid word and hoped that he didn't follow.

But Sam was a strategist for a reason.

"Pregnant, yeah I noticed."

I gasped in shock. If he had noticed then had the others? Were they going to hurt my baby? Blackmail Lissa to give over control? Kill me just because?

"Don't worry, the others aren't as observant as me. Anyway that won't be a problem for a while. Neither will your skin or your eyes. Needing real food might be but we can get around that. The real problem is you not being able to walk."

I was still speechless after him telling me that he knew I was pregnant, I mean I had only just found out myself! But I made my brain kick start and focus on the plan.

"Yeah, I have a little feeling in my legs now. But I won't be able to walk on them for a few days at lest."

"Not good enough," was all he said and he went quiet again. After a while he just shook his head and muttered, "I'll deal with that later."

"Ok...so what about the rest of me not looking like a Strigoi."

"That won't be a problem. There lots of left over things lying around here from where this place used to be a prison. There's a whole box of powder in the store room. Just put some creem on your skin and the powder will stick and you will look just as pale as the rest of us."

Hm, not a bad idea...

"My eyes?"

"That's going to be a bit difficult. There were some contact lenses left behind, but none that will make your eyes red..." He closed his eyes again and I made sure to keep as quiet as possible. So far nothing but genius had come out of his mouth and I didn't want anything to break his concentration.

That damn talking llama had better not show it's face here right now...

Suddenly Sam opened up his eyes and smiled and started talking excitedly, "I've got it! Just add two colours together that will make your eyes look as close to red as possible. No one will be looking that closely anyway."

Wow he was good.

"You said our hair was different?"

"Yes, hers is straight and black. I can get a decent wig, but you will need to cut your hair."

I gasped quietly again! Dimitri would hate that!

"Do I have to?" I asked feeling defeated.

"It's the only way. Hair dye is bad for the baby."

And Dimitri would rather I go bald in a heartbeat then find out that I hurt our miracle baby just because I wanted to keep my long hair.

"Fangs?" I asked hoping that Dimitri wasn't to upset when he saw me again. He loved my hair...but he would love our baby more.

His shoulders sank. "Sorry, there's nothing here for that. You will just have to hide your teeth. You need to stay out of sight as much as possible anyway. After all of the beatings that Tasha gave her, Ann has become timid and afraid of Tasha. If you suddenly change your personality that she will notice. So you need to act weak around her."

"But that means that she will hit me! What about the baby?" I asked and instinctively tried to put my hand over my stomach. "I can't be weak and survive."

"You won't have to. In fact, you can't. Act strong and fight. Hold your own and you won't be made a target. Just stay out of the way of Tasha but if you're around her just act timid around her. She's the only one that matters around here anyway and she never let's us forget it."

"If I fight my baby might get hurt." The life of a Strigoi was filled with violence, I couldn't risk hurting the small life inside of me.

"You're a good enough fighter. Just don't get hit directly in the stomach and you will be fine. The baby is tough. It had two Dhampirs as parents, and you're good enough to make sure that your stomach isn't hit. Anything else shouldn't be to bad for the baby."

I shook my head, well as much as I could, we were getting way ahead of ourselves.

"None of this is even going to be relevant if I can't walk, so what are we going to do about that?"

He closed his eyes again and when he opened them and smiled "Well I have a plan for that..."

_Here we go. _

DPOV

It had been two weeks, and I was losing hope fast. Two weeks and I hadn't had a single sighting. I had staked out every club in the area and nothing came up. I had stopped a few drinks spikers and a few low lives that wanted to take advantage of drunk women, but aside from that, nothing of worth came out of my time here. I was starting to think that I made a mistake choosing Seattle. I mean it did have the most missing people in the area but so far nothing for me to go on.

I switched on my Guardian issued radio scanner that allowed me to tap into the local police scanner channel to see if there were any new reports coming in that could give me a lead.

_"1224 please come in car 1224." _

_"This is Officer Tenner, we read you HQ. What have you got for us?" said the cop._

_"We have a suspicious character report. It's probably nothing but with the latest string of missing people, we think that you should check it out. Over by the east side of town at a club called Night Crawler." _

_"Roger that HQ, we're on it." _

Suspicious character huh? Well that's better than what I have here. I jumped in my car and drove over to the club that they mentioned and parked a good distance away from the police car. The last thing that I needed right now was to be mistaken for the 'suspicious character' and have the police breathing down my neck while I was in town.

I looked around the ally and saw a guy in a trench coat looking around, like he was expecting someone to appear. He didn't look like a Strigoi, but I went in for a closer look anyway. They guy saw me and started backing away.

"Looking for someone?" I asked as I moved closer.

"Not trouble," the guy said and shoved something into his cloak. He might not be Strigoi, but I bet that he didn't have any good reason the be lurking around here. Just as I was about to go and tip the police off about this guy, a group of girls walked out the backdoor and were to busy laughing to notice the guy that they all but ran into.

Until he pointed a gun at them that is.

"Nice night for a little walk wouldn't you say ladies?" the creep asked with a smile.

The girls were scared silent.

"Why don't we go to the park and look at the stars, maybe dig a few holes..."

The girls were crying by now and I was just about to step in and beat the living day lights out of this guy when a deep voice from the other end of the ally spoke up.

"Why don't we dig one for you?"

Then about ten men stepped forward and I could tell right away that some were human and some were Dhampirs. But all of them were tough and looked like they could handle themselves in a fight.

The guy obviously thought so too and ran right past me... into the cop car with his gun still out. Well he wouldn't be harassing girls anymore.

"Go home ladies and be more careful in the future," I said and the girls ran past me and to the cop car.

I turned my head back to the men that were still standing at the other end of the alley.

"Can I help you?" I asked not in a friendly tone. This was just another dead end and I was getting desperate. Rose had been gone for almost two months by now and she was most certainly not being handled with care. I didn't have time to make small talk with these morons.

"Dimitri Belikov?" the guy in the front asked.

"Who wants to know?" I asked back, not sure if they were friend or foe at this point.

"_Zmey_ sent us. We're here to help you get Rose back."

**Well I hope that that was fast paced enough for all of you! **

**So what is San's plan? Is he really on Roses side? **

**Will Dimitri find a new lead now that Abs's team has arrived? **

**Will Rose cut her hair?**

**And will that talking llama ever stop messing things up****?**

**Well find out next chapter!**


	19. Chapter 19

**I am SOOO Sorry! But my Beta was busy with stuff and I JUST MOVED HOUSE LAST NIGHT! Seriously all of my stuff is still in boxes!**

**But here's the next chapter and some of the funnya reviewers...you know who you are;) **

ALex

that damn llama!  
great chapter i love it :)  
worth the wait  
you might have noticed im OOC by being nice witch is unusual  
but im really sick, and have a fever i feel like christian is practicing fire magic in here  
this chapter made my day  
dont get used to me being kind  
im just too sick to form death threats

**Well I hope that this makes you feel better :)**

**From mavelbooks**

Bleigh I hate Tasha! That talking llama should just turn her into a pile of grass and eat her, but perhaps tashas so crazy that the llama might get sick... Anyway, idgaf if rose hair.. I really hope that sam is legit helping her, not as a ruse from tasha, and i know that violet is the spy! She probably misses the strigoi high! I never liked her anyway... I really want rose to escape soon.. Try to speed the story up a little bit, or at least make the chapters longer.. Have adrian dream walk rose and she can tell hin that theyre in an abandoned prison, although how Rose didnt figure that out on her own i dont know.. I mean, how many places have cells? Alright now, UPDATE SOON or the llama will eat your computer and it will start posting in your behalf without any of these annoying cliffies.. Wow that review was LONG! Idk but update soon!

**Ha! Now I can use that as an excuse as to why I haven't updated in so long! HAY BTTF LOVERS OF THE WORLD! It was her fault **

ALex again!

I am back  
yesterday so sick  
i was like  
"Can you pass the tissues"  
"get it yourself"

"MUM! I'm COLD, but i'm so HOT"

"I'm i got a fever!"  
"honey take Panadol"  
"I don't want to"  
-one minute later-  
"MUM! where is the GOD DAMN Panodol"

"Mum i need to go to the doctor"  
"OK honey I'll take you"  
"but i dont want to"  
"you just said you want to go?"  
"No I said I NEED to go I dont WANT to go"  
so i decided to drop by

Moral of this story: I FUCKING HATE BEING SICK, MUST BE SOME TYPE OF KARMA, KARMA'S A BITCH

Anyways:  
now I'm still sick but feeling better  
So:  
are motherfucking joking  
There is Plan  
A GOD DAMN MOTHERFUCKING SON OF A BITCH ASS PLAN  
and you have the nerve to keep it hidden  
SHAME ON YOU!  
YES YOU!  
AND THAT llama  
yeah llama i see you!  
but Sam seems nice

there is a bomb hidden in your house and time is ticking so you better update before i do some serious damage

**Now I don't mean to play favourites, but your reviews are really brighten up my day:)**

**Comrade's Roza.**

this was better, no need for threats this time.

**Wait and see... **

**DauntlessTrin**

I tired. I really tired. If Sam isn't on Rose's side I might just send in my talking Alpacha with his sidekick Donkey to skin you alive and rip out your itsy bitsy heart. Are you tan? I believe you would make a very nice rug. As for Dimitri finding a lead... Idk I be really tired. Too tired to think at the moment. That death threat came from the heart. I would give you another one about you needing to update and all that s*** but 3 in the morning is too late for me to be living. Night people of the world.**  
**

**It's reviews like that that make fan fiction wort writhing. And on, I'm a red head and have the pail skin to match so sorry about your rug. Unless you want it Albino lol **

**And now on worth the chapter! Disclaimer: GO QLD WE WON THE FIRST GAME OF THE ORIGON!**

_I turned my head back to the men that were still standing at the other end of the ally. _

_"Can I help you?" I asked not in a friendly tone. This was just another dead end and I was getting desperate. Rose had been gone for almost two months by now and she was most certainly not being handled with care. I didn't have time to make small talk with these morons._

_"Dimitri Belikov?" the guy in the front asked._

_"Who wants to know?" I asked back not sure if they were friend or foe at this point. _

_"Zmey sent us. We're here to help you get Rose back." _

DPOV

_Well at least someone back at Court was doing their job,_ I thought bitterly even as I thanked my lucky stars that Rose's father was one hell of a scary mob boss that could make anyone do anything that he wanted.

Though that hadn't seemed like such a gift when I had first found out that I was dating his daughter.

"Do you have any proof of that?" I asked even though I probably didn't need to. I mean it's not like Tasha was going to send me a team of highly trained men to pretend that they were helping me when they were really trying to set me off on the wrong path.

No, if she had sent a team after me it would be a team of Strigoi and they wouldn't be interested in small talk.

The guy in the front got something out of his pocket and threw it at me. I caught it mid air and looked down at it...and gasped.

It was Roza's _Nazar_! She normally never took it off, but on the day that she was taken, we had received the tape of Tasha holding her claws over Eddie's throat. Rose had run straight there, and after we had made sure that Eddie was ok, Rose then stormed into Han's office and demanded that I get guarded now that I was the target.

I looked further down the chain at what else hung from it.

Roza's engagement ring.

She had decided that while she was on duty that she wouldn't wear it on her hand in case she damaged it somehow. She had been halfway through putting the ring on the chain when we got the tape and never remembered to put it back on.

"How did you get this?" I growled. I had left it behind on purpose. I was headed into unknown danger and didn't want to risk loosing something so valuable. Also in the off chance that I did get captured and that Tasha found them, she would have just crushed Rose's _Nazar_ in her hands and put the ring on her own finger.

The thought of my Roza's ring on her finger was enough to make me sick.

"The Guardians found it when they searched your room after you did your runner. _Zmey_ thought if would be proof enough that we're on your side."

_Or proof that the spy was better connected than we thought_.

"How did you find me?" I've been off the grid ever since my phone got broken by that crazy talking llama minion.

"It wasn't easy. We tracked you down in Maddenten after you found and interrogated that Strigoi, but after that we lost you. It was by sheer luck that we heard on the police scanner that, and I quote, '_Some cowboy wannabe in a duster just chucked a drink spiker at our car." _

I smiled at that. Roza always teased me about my duster and my cowboy complex.

"So we figured that we would try here next. Turns out that it paid off."

It seemed a little convenient that right when I wasn't having any luck at all in my search for Strigoi, I just happen to finding a Special Ops team that just suddenly rockets up in the middle of the night and offers me their help.

But there was no point in turning down free help if it was here. I hadn't exactly be knocking back leads lately just because I had too many to chose from.

"All right, who are you and what do you know so far?" I asked walking closer to them.

"I'm Dan, and _Zmey_ briefed us on the mission before we left to track you down, so we know about as much as anyone back at Court, which is sadly not much."

Well that's helpful. "Has Hans wiped out the mini swarm yet?" If he hadn't then I was having serious doubts about his ability to lead.

"Yes and no. You see this brainiac Sydney Sage tried to build a "Strigoi tracker" and convinced the Queen to make the team take it on the mission. She apparently had a good reputation and was good with things like that so Hans had confidence that it would work and followed it. But it was off course by a long shot and by the time that the team attacked they only got about half of them."

I don't know what I was more shocked to hear. Sydney being wrong, or Hans putting so much faith in technology when in the past he had always turned up his nose at _useless technology _like that. Hans was an old school Guardian as Rose would put it. He believed that the only way to fix a Strigoi problem was to stick a stake in its chest and then leave the sun to take care of it. It had taken Rose and Lissa months to prove that they had a bond before they lost it and even after he saw it in action, he was sceptical.

"Are they still terrorising towns?" I asked trying to get my head around this new development.

"Not as much now, but they will be up to their old tricks soon enough," Dan said in a dry voice.

I nodded. "Let's take this somewhere else," I said looking around. The last thing that we needed right now was for some human who was a Strigoi sympathizer to overhear us. We already had one leak back at Court and that was bad enough, we really didn't need another.

"We've set up a temporary HQ at our hotel if you want to come and see, we've got some ideas on places that Rose might be being held."

I just nodded and followed them back. Their hotel was basic but adequate, with a few single beds and a few camper beds scattered here and there. Around the place were maps with lines and dots and stuck to them were notes about what they meant. It seemed a bit chaotic, but from the way that the men moved about, there must be some method to the madness.

I walked up to the biggest map in the room that was stuck up on the wall. It showed a bunch of small green circles that has big red Xs crossed over them, and a few more circles that hadn't been touched yet.

"The green circles are places that we thought Tasha might be keeping Rose, we checked them on our way here. And the Xs are were we've searched and she wasn't there obviously," said a man from the team that I didn't know.

"What were you basing your search on?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"Places that Tasha hit before. She may have found a place that she thought was good enough to call home for awhile. I'm Jece by the way," he said holding out his hand for me to shake.

"Well I've been going on missing person reports and murders in the area," I said shaking his hand without bothering to say my name. He knew it anyway.

"Any luck?" Jece asked.

"None here so far. But now that you're all here I have an idea."

"Well then can we at least hear it?" said Dan's voice from behind me. I turned to see that I had most of the room's attention. Shrugging my shoulders, I got straight to it. No point in wasting time with small talk.

"I've been hitting a new club every few days and have only gotten bits and pieces about who or what's been making people disappear. The best I've got to go on is that even in the dark he's really pale and moved like a wild animal. So I think that we should all split up and hit different clubs while someone stays here and coordinates our movements, and another man checking the police scanner. If we cover enough ground then we will get a solid lead to go on." And it would be more affective than running from one end of town to the other every time something interesting happened.

"And if we don't find anything?" Dan asked. _Definitely the leader_, I judged. All of the others looked to him when he spoke like he was giving them orders.

"Then we try a new strategy. So unless any of you had any other ideas I suggest that we get to work."

I had felt so confident that my plan would work, but after a week of no success, it was starting to seem like it was a dud. But no one else had come up with anything better. This place had the most missing persons and the Strigoi had to been feeding so I didn't know where else they could be.

_"Rogue one anything on your end?"_ Jones' voice came over the radio. He had put up his hand to be the coordinator and was keeping constant touch with all the members of the team.

"All clear here, HQ how's it looking with the others?" I said back as I kept a look out.

_"Rogues two and five stopped a mugging, and Rogues three and six stopped a drug deal, but on the Strigoi side of things, it's pretty quiet tonight."_

"Roger that," I said and went back to looking over the crowds in the club. I let out an exasperated breath. That was exactly the kind of news that I didn't want to hear. We needed something to go on! I had even gotten so desperate to try and send a message to Tasha to egg her on and come out of hiding. But she had either not gotten the message or obviously didn't want to be found because she had done nothing to respond.

One of the men in Abe's team was some kind of computer genius and was monitoring the phone lines for Rose's name. So far nothing.

I was about ready to call it a night when I heard the call over the radio.

"_HQ, this is Rogue seven, I've got one, repeat, I've got one!"_

An actual sighting? YES. As much as I wanted to run straight there and hang that miserable Strigoi off of the top of the Space Needle until he told me what I wanted to know, I knew that I couldn't just run off. We needed to work as a team, so I listened closely for instructions.

"_Ok good job Rogue seven hold your position, all other Rogues in the area drop it like it's hot and hightail it over there. Rogues two and three, I want you covering the exist, Rogues one and five, I want you to give Rogue seven back up ASAP."_

"Roger," I said back a second before the others and ran off. The club that Rogue seven was watching tonight wasn't that far from me and I made it there in just under three minutes. Rogue five wasn't too far behind me.

Rogue seven was keeping an eye on the Strigoi but not giving his position away until we got there. But unfortunately there also happened to be a girl in the ally and the Strigoi was going straight for her!

"Such pretty eyes you have, I would love to look even deeper into them. Why don't we get a little...closer so I can see them up close," the sick minded Strigoi said before he jumped for the girl fangs bearing-

And that's when Rogue seven and I jumped in with Rogue five behind us.

We were all fighting the Strigoi and keeping it at bay, but not trying to stake it. He was our best lead so far and we couldn't afford to kill him before he talked. While Rogue seven kept it distracted, I caught Rogue five's eye. We moved as one and the moment that the Strigoi's back was to us, we sprang into action.

But the Strigoi was outnumbered and he knew it. He quickly jumped on a dumpster and over an alley wall. I was about to follow him when suddenly floodlights were turned on us and a loud voice came over a speaker.

"All right you lot freeze!" said the police officer. _Well this was going to be fun. _

It took a lot of time and the flashing of some fake papers that Abe provided, but we finally managed to convince the police that we weren't some kind of gang and that we didn't have anything to do with the freak in the ally, and after hours of useless interrogation, we were free to go.

"Well at least we now know that there are actually some real Strigoi around here," said Leo ever the optimist.

"Yeah our first lead of the mission and we blow it," said Ben, the pessimist.

"It doesn't matter what we did, what matters is what we're going to do next time to catch these guys," said Dan taking control.

"We found him in the east part of town. I think that we should focus on that area tomorrow. Strigoi can be crafty, he might think that we wouldn't go back there because it's too obvious, but that exactly why he's going to go back there. It's a double bluff, and I say we call it," I said standing up and daring anyone to challenge me. I had more knowledge about Strigoi than they will ever know.

"It's your girl out there, it's your call," Dan said with a smirk. I knew they all thought that I was crazy for going out on my own like this, but if ever any of them finds the love of their life and they get separated from her again and again and have gone through half of what Roza and I have, then they can have a say on whether I'm crazy or not.

We hit all of the clubs in area that we found the Strigoi in and on night two, we struck gold.

"HQ, this is Rogue one, I've got him repeat I've got him!" I said and ran to attack the Strigoi before he could make another quick get away.

I got my stake out and swiped it across his face. Painful, but not deadly and it got him madder which just made him make more mistakes..._just like Rose back in the early days of the academy..._

By now the others had come to back me up and I grabbed his right side while Rogue five grabbed his left, followed by Rogue three and we forced him down to the ground. He struggled, but no matter how strong a Strigoi was, he couldn't hope to fight off three Guardians...or near Guardians, at once.

"Let me go so I can rip your throats out!" the Strigoi snarled. I vaguely noticed that it was a different Strigoi from the other night but that didn't really matter, one was all I needed.

"Yeah we're gonna pass on that but thanks for the invite," said Rogue three with a smile.

"Where are you keeping Rose?" I demanded getting my stake out and holding it an inch away from his face on the side that I hadn't cut yet.

"I'm not telling you anything you Dhampir scum!" the Strigoi yelled and thrashed around some more.

"I wouldn't try that if I was you mate, this guy has been hunting down his girlfriend for months now and he's getting kind of desperate," said Rogue three, AKA Nick, with his smile still in place. Doesn't this guy ever act serious?

"Yeah, it will be a lot easier on you if you just tell him everything that he wants to know," added Rogue five. Well they were right, I was more than prepared to hold this guy down and torture him until sunrise if that's what it took to get some information out of him. I didn't like it, but desperate times called for desperate measures. And I was more than desperate to get my Roza back.

"Where is Rose?" I asked again in a deep and deadly voice that left no room for games.

"At...our main base," he finally said giving up, but still struggling a bit in our hold.

"Where is your base?" I asked hope filling my chest for the first time in months.

"At Sand Stone St...in the abandoned warehouse!"

I quickly staked him and radioed the others. We were attacking. Tonight!

Meanwhile at RPOV

It was a miracle, but after Sam left, my mind was spinning with hope that I actually managed to sleep! And it was a good sleep. Lately, I had only been getting a few hours of unrestful sleep, which couldn't have been good for the baby, and haven't been able to go deep enough into sleep to dreamwalk with Adrian. But tonight I did! At least I think I did.

Everything was fuzzy, like an untuned TV with bad reception. But I could vaguely make out Adrian amongst all of the static.X

"...ttle Dhampir, can you hear me?"

"Adrian!" I called back trying to hear him. This had never happened before. The only time that it was even close to this bad was when I actually was a Strigoi and my mind was so different from Adrian's that he couldn't physically stay for more than a few minutes.

This time it was like he was trying to stay and I was the one that was that was pushing away.

"Adrian I'm right here! What's wrong?" I asked, he didn't look like he was in any pain so that was good, but what was the problem? I wasn't a Strigoi this time, and I was pregnant the first time that he dreamwalked with me so that couldn't be it.

"... an't get through, we're...for you. Do you.. ow where you...are?" Adrian asked, but I could only make out every second word.

"I'm in some kind of prison! That's all I know."

"I can't hear you!" Adrian shouted like that would help matters.

"I said I'm in some kind of prison!" I said again slower and louder.

"No... ood. Just stay stro...getting you out of there. Cradle Robber is...you."

"Dimitri? What about him? Is he ok?" I asked frantic. I couldn't lose him, not now! Not when I haven't even had the chance to tell him the good news!

"I still can't...hear you!" Adrian shouted back. Great. Looks like this is strictly a one way call.

"Yeah love you too Adrian," I muttered before he disappeared completely.

"Adrian!" I shouted as I woke up with a shock when a cold bucket of water was tossed on my face.

"Good morning Rosemarie. I trust that you slept well. Getting late night visits from a certain Moroi were we?"

I looked up at Tasha in shock. How did she know about Adrian dreamwalking with me? I mean I had just called out his name, but that didn't explain how she even knew that dreamwalking was a thing!

Tasha just let out a cold Strigoi laugh when she saw my shocked wet face. "Oh yes I know all about Adrian's little ability, you see my spy back at Court is very well informed," Tasha said with a smile as cold as the water.

Aaah so that's how she did it. They really needed to pin down whoever it was back at Court. My money's on the talking llama. **(Aaah two in one chapter I'm on fire.)**

"You know Dimka won't be happy when he finds out that you've been cheating on him in your dreams like the dirty little blood whore that you are," she sneered, the smile gone from her scared ugly face. Evil really didn't look good on her.

"Dimitri knows all about our dreamwalking and he doesn't mind because Adrian and I are just friends!" I said though I didn't need to justify myself to the likes of her.

"Sssuurrree you are. And how was your dreamwalking mmm? Have a nice chat?"

I bit down on the comeback that I was about to sought at her, did she know why it had been so hard to hear Adrian and why he couldn't hear me at all?

"Just peachy," I said not letting on evan though I knew by her smirk that she had had everything to do with it.

"Do you want to know what I've been doing the past few weeks while you've been sleep deprived?" Tasha asked as she put her hands behind her back and stated pacing the room like she was giving a talk in a classroom in front of students.

"Getting breast implants so that you might stand a chance when Dimitri sees you next?" I asked just to tick her off. Moroi usually had A cup breasts, while most Dhampirs had C to D cups. I was the latter and wasn't afraid to hit Tasha where it hurt.

"Very funny," she said with steel in her eyes. "I've been getting my minions to set up a small broadcasting station on the surface. You see, much like the old CV radios waves used to muck up with TV broadcasting, I've set up a tower that messes up with Adrian's dreamwalking signal. As long as the antenna is up and running, you won't be able to get through to your little friend. Which means no telling him where you are. Not that you knew to begin with but hey, it's a good idea to cover all of the bases."

I was shocked silent. How in the hell had Tasha figured out how to block Adrian's dreamwalking? I mean it's not like he even knew how he did it! It was just a side affect of being a spirit user!

"Now you've been experiencing water torture all day, so how are you feeling?" Tasha asked with her fake smile back in place.

"I've been chained to a bed and had water dripping on the same place for 12 hours. How do you think I feel?" I all but shouted. I wasn't in a good mood; I was angry, restless, worried, hungry and pregnant which was just making everything all that much more annoying! If I wasn't chained down I would have probably already attacked Tasha again by now.

"My my my such a temper, and just when I've come to release you for the night. I had hoped that you and the water torture machine had made peace with each other by now. But perhaps another day will change your mine."

I wanted to say bring it on just to see her face, but I needed to keep playing the game if I didn't want anything bad to happen to my baby.

"NO please not that again!" I begged and even managed to make a few tears come out. A usful skill that I had learned over the years.

"Oh now don't be such a drama queen. You have the whole night to get used to it, if I were you I would just accept it, your short life here will be much easier...on second thought don't. I'm having too much fun making you scream."

And on that note she walked out.

DPOV

"Is everyone in position?" Jones asked over the radio. We decided that there really wasn't much point in having an able bodied man sitting on his butt back at HQ when he could help us storm the fortress. We had no idea how many Strigoi were in there so we had to be smart about this. In the end, we decided that Jones would still coordinate us, but once we started the attack we were on our own.

A chorus of _Rogers_ came back. "Alright now I want everyone to come back alive from this RAID, nobody dying on the job. I'll look very bad on my record," joked Dan and half of the squad chuckled while the other half just rolled their eyes.

"Yes sir captain sir!" laughed Rogue three. He was definitely the clown of the group.

"All right everyone move out!"

And we were off. We had surrounded the warehouse and smashed through the windows on all sides. The moment that we were inside, we were faced with five Strigoi. And I was more than a little happy to see them. One of the Strigoi, which must have been a new one, ran straight at me and went for my throat without even trying to attack me. I simply side stepped him and slid my stake in between his ribs and into his heart.

The next was a bit more cautious and swung a few punches at my face first. His movements kind of reminded me of Rose's when she was in the spirit's darkness. Angry and not thinking. I blocked all of his punches and used my long legs to take his out from under him and had him staked before he even hit the ground.

I looked up for the next one in line...only to find that there was none. The other Rogues all looked as clueless as me. Rogue four was bored enough to actually just play with his Strigoi! It took a swipe at his eyes and he laughed before making it turn around in a big circle before taking its legs out from under it like I had.

"Quit playing around Rogue four and stake that thing so we can figure out what the hell is going on here," commanded Dan.

"There had to be more of them than that!" said Ben.

"What self respecting wannabe Strigoi queen has only five minions to protect her? I mean there was more than this in the mini swarm!" cried Dan not lowering his stake, convinced that there were more Strigoi out there just waiting for us to let our guards down.

"Let's have a look around. Maybe they were in the middle of changing bases and we just caught the tail end of it," I said because really there wasn't much else that we could do. It's not like we could just shrug our shoulders and say '_oh well better luck next time'. _And we couldn't very well take the word of a tortured Strigoi as law.

A few of us went to do perimeter sweeps and search the surrounding areas while the rest of us looked around on the inside. There really wasn't all that much to see. Empty boxes, some old equipment, and office buildings.

I was just about to turn around and say that there was nothing here, when something suddenly caught my eye.

A long slab of wood. But it wasn't just sitting there, it looked like it was imbedded into the ground. I kicked up the dirt around it and saw a chain, I pulled a bit and the slab of wood flipped opon! And there was a set of stairs leading down!

"All Rogues come in, I found something repeat, I've found something!"

Thirty seconds later and all of the others were crowded around me and looking at the stairs.

"This looks like it boys. Keep sharp and call for help if you need it. Move out," Dan said and we charged single file down the trap door.

_I'm coming for you Roza_

RPOV

I scoffed down dinner like it was my last meal and thanked whatever lucky stars that I had left that it was a big portion. I guess it was to make up for no lunch. I really didn't like skipping meals, even at the best of times if I missed food there was problems. But now that I had another life l care for, who's life literally depended on mine, well I was now a lot more protective of my food.

I was unchained and had managed to make it off of the bed and over to the food with out too much trouble, and I was definitely starting to feel some tingles in my legs. But that sill wasn't going to be good enough for a prison break anytime soon. I just hoped that Sam came through on his plan.

I dragged myself over neat the toilet before I went to sleep in case I had morning sickness and managed to actually get a good amount of sleep in...before I was rudely awakened.

"Hey, you need to be awake for this," a cold, but familiar voice said as Sam gently shook me awake.

"Mmm what?" I asked none to nicely. I was having a nice dream of a very nice shirtless Dimitri and Sam was interrupting it.

"Sorry but I needed to get to you before Tasha comes here and you get chained to the bed again," Sam said as he pulled a book out from somewhere.

"What's that? It can't very well be a bedtime story because you had to wake me up to read it," I said as I slowly sat up and experimentally stretched my legs. Still not much movement.

"It's the book that Tasha used when she was learning how to torture you with acupuncture. I've read it and I think that I can reverse what she did, but it takes time for your nervous system to restart so we have to do it now. Tasha and the rest of her zombie followers will be here in just over an hour," Sam said with a smile, to him this was like playing Secret agent and I could tell that he was having fun doing it.

"Wait. You _think_ that you know what to do? You mean you're not sure?" suddenly having Sam as my sole ally in this place didn't sound to responsible.

"Well it didn't really go into that much detail. But I can do it; it's simple, when she stuck the needle in your back she shocked your body into shutting down, by doing it again I hit your reset button and you get the power of your legs back. See simple."

"Or you could push by body into overdrive and make my paralysis permanent and leaving me with absolutely no chance of ever walking again. And having Tasha finding out about my baby and doing who know what to it. Sure that sounds like a reasonable risk," I said trying got keep my voice down but it was hard.

"It's true the logic of it is a bit flawed, but I've calculated my chances of success and the numbers are on our side. Also there isn't really much else that you can do but wait for the movement of your legs to come back on their own and who knows how long that could take, or how much you will be showing by then."

Damn. Sam was right. I didn't have another choice. But that didn't mean that I had to like it. Putting a hand on my stomach and hoping that my next sentence didn't doom me and my baby to death, I looked up into Sam's eyes.

"Alright let's do it."

I rolled over onto my front as Sam got out the acupuncture needle that he had stolen from Tasha's office along with the acupuncture book.

"Alright. Now I'm going to put only one needle in at a time and leave it in there for about half an hour. By then, your nerves will have woken up enough to do their own thing and I can get back out of here before the guards notice that you're not alone."

"Alright let's get this over with," I said and closed my eyes.

"Oh and this might hurt." Sam said before putting the first needle into my spine.

DPOV

I heard a high pitched scream and ran down the stairs even faster, ready to save my Roza and kill whoever it was that was making her scream like that.

I was ready for an attack. I was ready for a swarm of Strigoi, I was ready for Tasha, I was even trying to prepare myself for an injured and possibly bloody Rose...but I wasn't ready for what I saw down here.

"What the hell!" cried Leo, and I couldn't blame him.

"Well this certainly explains all the missing people," said Jace quietly.

I didn't speak, I couldn't. There was no words for this.

Sitting in front of at least two dozen computer screens was a Strigoi, the one that we found the first time in the ally, he was watching all of the screens and in everyone was a person that seemed to be struggling through the woods looking scared and hurt. The Strigoi leaned forward and spoke into a microphone that all of the people seemed to be able to hear at once even thought they didn't look like they were together.

"You will have to fight harder than that if you want to survive to the next level," he said in a quiet voice.

Next level? What was he going on about?"

"This is sick," said Ben.

"Yeah and I'm not going to let it go on," said Dan and stormed over to the Strigoi.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he said and grabbed the Strigoi by the collar...or what I thought was a Strigoi anyway. Because when he was lifted up and shaken, his fake fangs fell out of his mouth.

VAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAV

"So it was a dead end?" asked Luke as we all sat around in our hotel after calling the police on that psycho. It turned out that he was the one responsible for all of the missing people. The sick bastard was trying to start his own hunger games and thought that dressing up like a "vampire" gave him the nice evil over lord look that he was going for.

"Maybe not. We did find a few Strigoi, they must have been contributing to some of the missing people," said Dan.

"Well what I don't get was why the Strigoi that we did find said that Rose was back at his base, I mean no one was there but the Strigoi and some freak," said Leo.

"Nuh uh that's not what he said. He said Rose was at their _main_ base. Then Dimitri asked him were _his_ base was. Could be that the main base and his base were two different places," said Rogue three. I liked him.

"Well does that mean that the main base is somewhere else?" Leo asked.

"And if so then where? We've all done our homework, this was the most promising place that we've had to search. Where do we go from here?" I asked cutting right to the heart of it. I had been crushed when the staircase hadn't led to my Roza and I was now more then ever determined to get her back.

"Did anyone stop to think that maybe the main base is a little closer to home then we've been thinking?" piped up Jone.

"What do you mean?" asked Dan.

"Well Tasha made a big deal about where she was headed and made lots of destruction on her way there, but then she just suddenly disappeared? With a group of new Strigoi? No I think that there would be a trail of blood no matter how hard she tried to hide it. I think that they're hiding out in some nice cozy bunker somewhere much closer to Court and are keeping a low profile."

"Then how are they feeding? The Guardians would surely notice that many missing people that close to Court," I said, liking where he was going with this but not seeing how it was possible.

"Well they have a spy don't they? Could be that they're playing delivery boy and giving the Strigoi food until the time is right to strike."

"Well that would rule out Jesse amd Ralf unless they did manage to get time off, but I doubt it. They weren't exactly helpful when I was asking them if they knew anything about Rose's kidnapping," I said ready to go with this because we had nothing better to go on.

"Someone new then. Does anyone have any better ideas? I mean we all know that Tasha wants to take over Court. What better way than to be close to it and lunch an attack when no one sees it coming?"

"I'm not buying it. There's no way that she could be hiding anywhere near Court without someone catching on. I mean only our best Guardian end up at Court. It's just not possible," said Leo.

"Well whether it is or not, it doesn't change the fact that we've killed all of the Strigoi here, so I say we call Court and tell them what we have so far and let them deal with it," said Ben.

"No," I said firmly. "We don't know who the spy is and if we tell them what we suspect then it will only give them a head start and possibly help them cover up their tracks better. I'm not contacting Court until it's absolutely necessary."

"So what do you want to do next then?" asked Nick.

I though for a moment. I didn't like it, but it needed to be said.

"Someone back at Court knows what's going on and is helping the Strigoi. I say that we go back to Court and spy on the spy."

"You mean go back to Court, set up a base and investigate our own people, specifically those high up and most trusted by the Queen? And accuse one or more of them of being a spy? You do realize that's one step below treason?" asked Nick still with a little smile.

"I do. I also know that right now,I'm desperate enough to try anything if it will get me any closer to Rose."

"Any suspects in mind?" asked Dan.

"A few," I growled out. And if it was the person that I thought that it was then I was going to have a hard time trusting anyone with my life ever again.

RPOV

The needle hadn't hurt all that much. Though that could just be because over the last two months I had been subject to multiple painful tortures and that this small amount of pain hadn't registered high enough to be a problem.

I wasn't much of a judge, but overall I think that it went well, Sam did what he said he was going to do and didn't say that there had been any complications. I had felt a few tingles over the course of the day, but other than that, nothing out of the ordinary. Just like any other day at the office.

I got food, through half of it back up. Tasha came, we exchanged insults, I went on water torture, and before I knew it the moment of truth had came. The water torture had finished for the night and I was now sitting in my cell with Sam waiting for the blood to come back to my limbs after not moving for so long.

"Can you move anything?" Sam asked in a calculating but hopeful voice. I had the sudden thought that Sydney and him would get alone well.

I tried to move amd managed to wiggle one toe.

"That's good! Here let me help you up," Sam said and rushed to my side. I was sitting up straight and ready to try.

"Well? Can you walk?"

I braced my self and tried to stand...

**Hay hay don't get mad at me I gave you a nice long chapter,in fact I think that this is the longest chapter that I have ever written so you should all be happy!**

**So once again, who is the spy?**

**who dose Dimitri suspect it is? **

**And the big one, can Rose walk? **

**Well find out when I can update next!**


	20. Chapter 20

**SORRY SORRY SORRY! But on top of moving house I got sick! But enough of excuses here it is!**

**Plus some funny reviews;)**

DauntlessTrin

The spy is Christian because I just finished watching Pretty Little Liars and that show has got my brain in a loop hole. How the hell am I supposed to know who Dimitri thinks is the spy? I don't look like him do I? I'd better not... Rose can walk because if she can't the Llama will come and rip each and every one of your toes off then feed you ice cream because he just made you lactose intolerant. Oh oh oh I got a joke: Even though your like an albino, I bet I can still tan your hide. Lol get it. Get it. Because I'm gonna turn you into a rug. Like a cow. No? Ok. At least you got the beautiful hair, I'm an albino-like blondie. I apparently am like the epitome of the dumb blondes, even though I'm an all honors straight A student *hair flip* And just so you know the reviews I receive also are what makes fan fiction worth writhing. Ugh and don't get me started on that god damned pail skin. Like I hate being a freakin bucket. lolz. Just so you know Dimitri sounds very sexy over walkie talkies. How would I know? I have telepathic powers with the llama. Also I've decided to name him Bob. Bob the Llama. Peace out home skillet

**I laughed so hard at that review that I actuly had trouble breathing! Please oh please keep it up!**

ilovesos9467

Thank you so very much for the long chapter!  
So I think I'm liking Sam. Maybe.  
I have no idea who could be the spy.  
I'm irritated with Tasha though. Interrupting Adrian's dream walking. Hmm. Who the hell does she think she is? Queen of the talking llamas? Yeah, right.  
update soon :)

**AAA I love talking llamas! They always get me reviews:)**

**Alex**

Oh come on!

we didn't learn nothing  
nothing i tell you  
No torture  
No rescue mission  
Nothing  
None  
Zero  
Nick is funny  
the llama is obviously the spy!  
Dimitri thinks Ivan is the spy  
And Rose will fall on her face even if she can move her legs she hasn't walked in a while  
A rescue mission will happen and Rose will look badass  
Tasha was going to record Rose being tortured. Did that happen?  
I have nothing else to say! help me out here and update**  
**

**Well all's I have to say is that I think that you will approve of this chapter:)**

Squeals. I just read the newest two chapters, and my god, can I say they were the perfect end to my day. My CIE finals ended today and all, so...yeah, that put me in such a god mood, on top of that...reading those amazing chapters? I'm not even cuss you out for the cliffy. :P  
Just Update soon. Please

**well "squeals" right back at you! **

**Ok ok enough Disclaimer: I had better say that I don't own ether VA or the talking Llama...I just think about them far to much for my own good lol**

_I tried to move and managed to wiggle one toe. _

_"That's good! Here let me help you up," Sam said and rushed to my side. I was sitting up straight and ready to try. _

_"Well? Can you walk?" _

_I braced my self and tried to stand..._

RPOV

And fell. I let a out gasp while I leaned towards Sam to break my fall.

"Easy," Sam said, sounding more worried than I have ever heard a Strigoi sound before.

"DAMN! It didn't work," I yelled as Sam sat me back down on my bed. What now? Was I permanently paralyzed? No, I couldn't be. I moved my toe...but if I did that then why can't I stand? I had feeling at least, my legs were killing me! And as weird as it sounds, I would take the pain over numbness any day.

"It's ok, you just rushed it a bit. Try again but slower this time," Sam said and helped me up again.

Never being one to quit, and also because this was literally my last hope, I stubbornly grabbed hold of Sam again and pulled myself to my feet again. This time I was actually able to stand! Smiling wide, I slowly moved my left leg forward and took my first step in over a week! I laughed in delight, I was walking! Hoping that this wasn't a fluke, I pushed my right leg forward and took another step, this one coming easier than the last. I took another and this time I put all of my weight on my left leg. And it held!

"That's it Rose! This time let go of me," Sam said smiling so hard that his fangs looked like they were going to jump out of his mouth and bite the closest thing... deciding that I didn't want that to be me, I did as he said and let go of him and stood up on my own. It felt weird supporting all of my own weight after only dragging myself around using my arms for so long, but I got used to it quickly. I took a few shaky steps and was soon walking around my cell without stumbling.

Tears were falling down my cheeks with the pain of not using my muscles for so long but I didn't care. I was walking again, and if I had had the room, I'm sure that I would have broken out into a sprint by now.

I was really getting the hang of it again when I looked down at my feet and noticed how much bigger my stomach looked now that I wasn't laying down. It wasn't too noticeable just yet in my big jumpsuit. But now that I was standing up straight, I could definitely see the difference.

I put my hands on my ever growing stomach and wondered how far along I was. I didn't really have much experience to go on, but judging from how long I was in here, how long I was missing my period and throwing up back at home, I would have to say that I was at least four months along. And that meant that I really only had about one or two months left until it became painfully obviousness that I was pregnant.

Picking up on my suddenly solemn mood, Sam started talking.

"Ok so you can walk, now we need to find a way to get you out of here."

"Yeah ok," I said and tried to snap my brain back into focus. The sooner that I got out of here, the sooner that my baby and I would be out of danger.

"Ok let's just keep it simple. Pick me up in your arms and pretend to be escorting me somewhere on Tasha's orders, and then just walk me straight out of here. And now that I can walk, we can make a break for it if the plan falls through."

"No good. No one but Tasha knows the codes to the doors. We're not allowed to leave."

To say I was shocked was a bit of an understatement. "But how are you all feeding?" Strigoi could only go a day or so without blood. Not to mention being cooped up in here was bound to cause some fighting.

"The spy that Tasha has working for her on the surface gives us blood so that we don't attract attention to ourselves. There's no way out of here until Tasha wants to execute her plans. All I know is she's planing something big. No one's allowed out of here, even to feed."

Tasha was planing something big? Well surprise surprise. I was going to have to try and find out about that before I hightailed it out of here.

"Ok then how about you pick the lock on Tasha's office and get the codes for the door. Then you walk me out of here like you own the place. Once we're outside we can...steal a car or something? Well I have no idea what's outside but I'm sure that we..." I trailed off when I saw Sam shaking his head. I admit that it was a little short on details but I thought that my plan had some merit.

"That won't work. Tasha doesn't have the codes written down anywhere. She memorized it."

I through my hands up in exasperation. "Well I don't know smarty pants, why don't you try coming up with an escape plan, you're the brilliant strategist," I said still walking around my cell. Man it was good to move about again.

Sam gave me a small smile before closing his eyes and doing that concentration thing again. If that talking llama tries anything...

After a few minutes, and that weird thing that Sam does when he lookes like he's putting a jigsaw puzzle together in mid air, Sam opened up his eyes.

"Ok, I'll make a small escape hole that you can fit through-"

"Then why didn't you say that first instead of letting me go on about codes?" I said shocked that that was an option.

"Because you're not going to use it," he said like it should have been obvious.

"...ok dumb question, but why can't I just use it?" I asked not following along at all.

"Because it's a decoy. You would never make it out of here, but if they see it and you're missing from your cell then they will think that you did take it and somehow made it out. Tahsa will panic and move up her plans."

"And you don't know her plans, I mean besides the world domination?" I asked hoping that he might know something.

"No, she's being very tight lipped about it," Sam said and frowned a little, like he was disappointed about it too. But I wasn't sure why. He was still a Strigoi and even though he was different, he still didn't think much about how many lives the Strigoi took. He was like a little kid sometimes, one that didn't know why bad things happened and didn't care as long as they didn't happen to him.

"Right, so if I'm not taking the escape route then what am I doing?" I asked getting back on track.

Sam smiled excitedly. "You're going to love it."

TPOV

I walked down the corridor on my way to torment Rose. She had been in water torture for a week straight and I was starting to think that it was either not affecting her as much as it used to, or it was affecting her much more and she was pretending that it didn't to get me to change methods. I couldn't decide which and Rose was definitely crafty enough to pull something like that off.

_Maybe I should add another torture into the mix. Drive bamboo shoots into her fingernails while she was undergoing water torture? That way she is definitely in pain and if one doesn't work then the other will_, I thought with a hint of a smile as I imagined Rose's screams. It had been too long since I indulged in this rare opportunity.

Or maybe mix it up a bit with a good beating before the water torture, punch her in that fat stomach that she's gotten from eating like a cow and make her throw up some more, she thinks that I haven't noticed yet but I have. I deliberately haven't changed her food in case it is something that she's allergic to. I hadn't know that at the start, but her sickness was just an added bonus. And if it isn't an allergy to the food then it's no wonder that she's becoming bulimic with the amount that she eats.

If I did go with the beatings then I could even start recording them. I wanted to do that from the start, but then Dimka had to go running off after his little blood whore and now I had no idea where to send the tapes. But I bet that if I sent them to Court then he will see them eventually...

Yes a beating sounds nice. I could cut her and make her bleed and scream for Dimka to save her. But of course, he will be too late. She was starting to outlive her usefulness, but I would keep her alive, just long enough to make her watch as Dimka chooses me over her. And if a little Strigoi compulsion is mixed in when he makes that decision then what's the harm-

"My queen my queen something terrible had happened!" A Strigoi shouted as he ran over to me and, seeing the look on my face, quickly remembered to bow before saying anything else. The last one that didn't is currently drinking blood through a straw.

"My queen something terrible has happened. The prisoner is missing from her cell and is somehow able to not only walk but run!"

"What!?" I yelled and ran for the cell that I knew would be empty. And sure enough as I got to that little bitches' door, it was open and she was gone. I snarled and punched the closest thing to me, which just so happened to be the unlucky Strigoi that told me that Rose was missing...or it would have been if he hadn't let out a girly scream and ducked out of the way. Instead, I hit the Strigoi behind him that had been sent to get Rose's food.

"What happened? Where is she?" I snarled at no one in particular.

"I'm not sure my queen," the Strigoi on the ground said, getting up and holding his jaw. "I came this morning to give the prisoner food like always. She was laying on the ground and dragged herself over to eat. But when I came back,she was gone."

"Well then what are you all standing around for! Find her!" I yelled and they all scurried off to do just that.

I walked over to a panic button that the prison had but was deactivated, until now, and pressed it. Red lights started flashing and a little microphone came out for me to announce the emergency.

"Attention all Strigoi, the blood whore Rose has escaped, she is to be found unharmed and bought back to me immediately. The first one to catch her gets the first bite," I added just to give the men and women some extra motivation. We had all been living on packet blood and it was no comparison to the real thing.

I set off running, there should be no way that she could escape, but if there was then leave it to Rose's filthy blood whore mind to come up with it.

RPOV

My legs were on fire and I had an angry mob of Strigoi on my tail but I just couldn't keep the grin off of my face. It had been way to long since I worked up a good sweat and I would laugh at the irony ( if I wasn't to busy trying to breath) But running was actually what I had been missing most when I was working out in my cell. Nothing exhausted and energise you quite like it...well nothing that I could do without Dimitri that is...

And I wasn't just smiling because I finally got to get out of my cell and go for a run. I was also smiling because not only was I finally doing something to help me break out of this place, but that I actually get to kill Strigoi this time around!

Sam, I had no idea how he had managed it, but he had gotton his hands (metaphorically speaking) on a stake! So here I was out and about running around and killing Strigoi. This was by far the most fun I had had since I got here.

As I was running, I heard Tasha's voice coming over the loud speaker.

_"Attention all Strigoi, the blood whore Rose has escaped, she is to be found unharmed and brought back to me immediately. The first one to catch her gets the first bite." _

_Really_? I thought and would have rolled my eyes if I wasn't running for my life. Not only does she announce to the entire prison, which was really just more Strigoi so I didn't really care, that I was a blood whore, but she had to give me as a prize to the first Strigoi that got me! Talk about adding insult to injury.

But I didn't really have much time to think about that as I rounded another corner and saw three more Strigoi right in front of me. But instead of stoping and taking a fighting stance, I kept running. Two of the three were so shocked that they actually got out of the way when I ran up to them. But the third one was a big man and stood his ground. So when I ran straight up to him like I was about to attack, he leaned forward ready to counterattack...but he wasn't ready for me to slide under his legs baseball style and end up on his other side. Neither were the other two because I staked them in the time it took him to turn around.

"Why you little-"

"Say blood whore and I will make this far more painful than it has to be!" I yelled as I circled him. I had had enough of being called that from Tasha, I didn't need her minions to join in on it!

But this one, thinking that he was the first one to get me and was going to get the bite, apparently decided that he wanted to play with his food.

"Oooh feisty, I love a girl with spirit, it makes them so much more fun to break-"

He never got to finish that sentence. While he was busy imagining how good my blood would taste, I charged in and slid my stake in to his heart and watched as the shocked look fell off of his face as the light in his eyes went out.

Pulling my stake out I spun around and kept running. I was going to take as many of them out as I could and so far I was only up to...30? Well it doesn't matter...as long as I get more than 50 I was happy.

And you know what they say, be careful what you wish for...because I hadn't taken more than a few steps when I was ambushed by at least five more Strigoi.

Well, when life gives you lemons...

"Oh my so many to choose from, " I said in a girly voice as I put my hands on my hips. "Let's see," I said as I looked at all of them circling me and pointed to each one. "Inny minny miney you," I said like I was playing a game...before I pounced on the Strigoi next to me and staked him in three seconds flat.

After that, the rest decided that they would charge me all at once and overwhelm me. Let's just say that that didn't work out so well for them.

I was back to running and I was starting to really get fatigued. I put a hand on my stomach as I ran and hoped that I didn't get hit with a wave of exhaustion. That had happened a few times in my cell and the baby and I couldn't afford it to happen now. Pushing forward, I made it to the spot that I was supposed to meet Sam.

I looked around and saw that I was Strigoi free for the moment but kept an eye out.

"Pssssstt." I heard and looked to my right. There was a small hole that I could have fit through if I tried. I walked over and looked up to see the sun just barely breaking through. I was moving before I even knew my feet had left the ground.

"What are you doing?" asked a frustrated Sam from behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw him standing there looking around to make sure that we weren't seen.

"What does it look like? I'm getting out of here!" I said and started to climb again.

"You will never make it!" Sam said and grabbed hold of my waist to pull me back.

"It's daytime! They can't follow me, I can get help! I'll come back for you I swear!" I cried out as I tried again to get back to the hole. I wanted to feel the sun in my face again.

"That's not real sun. It's just a UV lamp that I set up. The holo is a dead end. It just looked like you got out. We're far too deep underground for you to get out this way, but they won't know that. Tasha will order it closed up without investigating, now come on!" he said and I let him drag me back this time.

He led me over to a supply room and we both went inside. It was bigger on the inside than the outside and there was more than enough room for...all three of us.

"Rose I would like you to meet Anne, your new identity," Sam said as I looked at the tied up Strigoi in front of me. The one that Sam had kidnapped while I was on my Strigoi killing rampage.

And it was like looking into a mirror. Her skin was paler than mine but that was to be expected from a Strigoi. She was about my height and build...or she would have been if I wasn't however many months pregnant. And her face, the most important part...was almost a copy of mine.

"Amazing," I whispered still shocked at the resemblance.

"I told you that it would work. Now come on, we have work to do," Sam said as he turned on a bright light and I looked at my surroundings for the first time. There was a selection of clothes, some of them looked like they would fit while others looked too big. There was also makeup, wigs, powder, contact lenses and other accessories that looked like they belonged in a changing room for an actress.

"Ok I think that we have everything now, you just have to practice the voice," Sam said as he started fiddling with all of the things that he had collected.

I looked back at the Strigoi that looked so much like me and the only thing that I could think to say was.

"Nice hair." Lame I know, but it was weird seeing myself with black hair. It was like having a living manikin modelling different things for me.

"Go to hell," Anne said in a voice that I could easily replicate.

"Or I could just send you there in my place," I said and staked her quickly. And boy was it ever weird staking someone that looks so much like me. Shaking it off, I turned around and had to suppress a laugh.

"Right so first I thought that we would start with the hair and then see how we feel after that," Sam said wearing a ridiculous hairdresser's apron that I had no idea where he got it from and was acting like a stereotypical gay male hairdresser! Seriously, he was even putting on the bad accent! He always did want to get into acting.

I did laugh out loud then. "Sam my boy if we live through this then you're going to be one hell of a husband." I sat down and for the next two hours while my skin changed colour, my hair got shorter, (though not as much as I feared), my eyes got contacts, and I was transformed into the "living" embodiment of Anne the Strigoi.

And when I looked into the full length mirror that Sam had again magically gotten a hold of, I almost reached for my stake.

"Not too shabby if I do say so myself," Sam said with a proud grin. "Now we're going to have to figure out something with you needing to eat, but other than that you're good for a while," Sam said sweeping up my hair. In the end, we had only had to cut it up to my shoulders. Then we put it in a bunch of small plaits, then plaited the plaits and tucked them into the wig. If I kept it in a loose pony tail then you couldn't tell that it wasn't my hair.

"How long do I need to keep this up for?" I asked as I looked myself over. All in all, it was a very convincing disguise. I looked just like I had when I was a real Strigoi.

"Until we can get you out of here."

"And how are we going to do that?" I asked looking over at him and watching his face.

"Only Tasha knows the codes to the door and the location to where we really are, but soon there will be a small team that will get sent to a look outpost. Tasha is setting up small outposts in all the major cities all over the world. We don't know why, but if you play you're cards right then you can be chosen to go."

"And then I can sneak away and call for help." _And find out what Tasha's plan is in the meantime. _

"That's what I'm hoping. Then we will both be free and I will get to see the sun again. And eat chocolate!" Sam said excitedly like it was the best thing in the world, and come on let's be serious, it is.

I laughed anyway. "Sounds like a plan. But first let's go see if the others fall for our disguise," I said getting "_into character_" and walking out the door...

And into a nightmare.

**Well I hope**** that that was enough action for all of you!**

**And hay! What's up with all of you assuming that the talking Llama is a guy? It could be a girl!**

**So, what's happening with Dimitri?**

**What did Rose walk into? **

**And and can I seriously get a talking Llama joke in every chapter? **

**Well keep reading to find out! **


	21. Chapter 21

**Hay guys and dolls, you wanted it, so you got it! Plus the funny reviews to go with it!**

mavelbooks

Well then, lets name the talking llama Gladys-Fanny! (I couldn't make up my mind so i gave her both names)... Ok this is finally moving along. Good, good. I am still pretty sure that Ivans wife (i forgot her name atm) is the friggin mole/leak/tashas henchwoman.. Yeah she is sketchy as f*** so i'm pretty sure its her. Oh wait, her name is Violet! I really hope the strigoi fall for Roses disguise and Tasha may be a little bit suspicious because of her scent, but she won't be able to pinpoint what is exactly off about strigoi rose. Its almost 3 am where I live so im just gonna say this: update soon! (See what I did there? No threat because I was very happy that you listened to my reviews and you started to move the story along a little bit!) oh who am I kidding... Update soon or I will get our friwnd the llama, aka Gladys-Fanny or Bob or whatever its name is, to gather its Harley-riding mob friends to go into your house and cut all your red hair to sell it on the black market. That was weird.. Too much? Oh well, toodles!

**Wow! Straying up,till 3am just to read my story and giving me so many other party favours! Well you will be happy to know that next chapter is going to be BIG! So don't miss it!**

Alex

Finally  
now I can rant in peace  
What the hell is wrong with you!  
A nightmare? What the fucking hell is that supposed to mean?  
Now i am sitting here with a dumb look on my face  
But Rose is badass, at least you got that right  
Now i want chocolate like Sam  
Of course you can get a talking llama joke it is really not that hard. The llama agrees  
i do approve this chapter though

**But wait! There's more!**

**Alex**

Oh come on!  
You haven't updated in Ages, or well 6 days  
Not that i am counting, I have a life you know  
OK maybe i am counting  
I still have a life, but I have nothing to do right now  
So... I thought it is a good idea to bug you  
What the hell is wrong with you!  
I have no idea what the fuck the "nightmare" is  
really i stare at the ceiling trying to sleep but staying up for hours trying to figure it out  
It is sad really  
I will just go bug someone else  
bye

**I love the fact that I now have a Stalker! Sorry for,the long wait but I will try to do better next chapter!**

**Ok ok that's enough. Disclaimer I don't own VA or the movie BTTF...I just own this Fic and the Talking Llama in it AAAA I didn't evan wait for the chapter this time!**

"_That's what I'm hoping. Then we will both be free and I will get to see the sun again. And eat chocolate!" Sam said excitedly like it was the best thing in the world, and come on let's be serious, it is. _

_I laughed anyway. "Sounds like a plan. But first let's go see if the others fall for our disguise," I said getting "into character" and walking out the door..._

_And into a nightmare._

RPOV

I kept my face blank, or at least I tried to. But even for someone who has killed more then her fair share of Strigoi in her life, the amount of Strigoi bodies that had piled up around my "escape" hole while I was in the closest becoming "Anne" was more than I would have thought possible.

And in the centre of it all was Tasha. She had a crazed look in her eyes and blood all over her face. She had apparently taken her frustration and anger over me escaping out on her minions, and from the looks of it, was ripping their throats out too. She was looking around angrily, still trying to find so pore someone to take her anger out on apparently.

And she found her.

I took a step back, very aware of the fact that even though I was "Anne", I still looked like me and that Tasha had always loved to beat Anne up because of it. If it came down to a fight, I was heavily outnumbered and pregnant. But I wasn't alone, Sam would fight by my side, I was sure of it. And I wasn't unarmed.

Though it was a only a last line of defence, I had kept my stake carefully hidden in a pocket that was hidden by a low hanging shirt that was also helping hide my baby bump.

But if I used it now in front everyone then they would know that I wasn't a Strigoi, and I certainly didn't want to blow my cover this soon, but it was nice to know that I wasn't completely defenseless.

"I want her back!" Tasha shouted and punched another Strigoi that was unfortunately standing too close. She then saw me and stormed over.

"You!" I instantly went into a combat crouch ready to fight and protect me and my baby...

But then I heard Sam giving me a low hiss. And realized, with the feeling of dread running through me, what he was saying. I couldn't stop Tasha from hitting me, Anne was a punching bag and everyone knew it. If she suddenly started fighting back right as I disappeared, the Strigoi would notice that something was up.

"I had her in my hands and she got away!" Tasha screamed and slapped me across the face. I fell to the ground (making sure not to hurt the baby) and stayed down, making myself look as weak as possible.

"Please my queen," said a Strigoi woman as she stepped forward. She was in her 30s, and judging from her height, must have been a Moroi before she was turned. I vaguely wondered if her and Tasha had been friends before she was turned. She walked in front of Tasha and spoke without fear while all of the others were cowering away, afraid of being Tasha's next victim.

I slowly moved away while Tasha was distracted.

"It's daytime, we can't go after her. And we would give our position away. She is sick and weak and even if she does make it back to Court, she doesn't know where she was being held. But if we go after her before we're ready to launch our attack then we will give away our position far too soon and all of your hard work will have been for nothing! And we will have to retreat and fall back on our back up base. Please my queen," she said kneeling down and bowing her head, "I beg of you for patience."

Tasha was silent, considering her request. The woman took this as another opportunity to calm Tasha down further.

"Also now that she is free, the others will stop looking for her. And your Dimka will come back home to Court, I'm sure of it. They will all be so busy fawning over that silly little girl that they won't even bother to look for us until it's too late and that you are the rightful queen of the world."

She was good, I'll give her that. She persuaded Tasha to see sense by flattering her and insulting me at the same time. She would have been good at politics.

"Yes, you're right," Tasha said calming down. "They will all be looking at her, and why shouldn't they? That little blood whore always did like being the centre of attention. And while she's telling the tragic story of her capture, we can move on to the next phase of our plan." A little smile was tugging at her lips and I relaxed just a bit.

Suddenly Tasha snapped back into her normal leader role, like me escaping hadn't even ruffled her feathers. "Cover up that hole before it catches any of you worthless minions and get me a status report on all of the outposts," Tasha said before she stormed off down the hall.

"That was close," I muttered as Sam and I got out of the line of fire and walked down to a quiet place in the prison that the others didn't care about. My head was killing me and my vision was still a little bit blurry, but I was still in one piece.

"Too close. You must try and keep your distance from Tasha. She will enjoy beating you now more than ever. The baby should be able to take anything other then a direct hit to the stomach, but even so, you should avoid it." Said Sam beside me.

"I need to find out what Tasha is cooking up so that I can warn the others when I get out of here," I said as I sat down on a bench, trying to just look casual.

"Leave that to me. Nobody here thinks I'm good for anything so I'm practically invisible. I'll find out what you need."

"Fine. Now what am I going to do about food?"

"You will have to sneak into the kitchen and get it when nobody's around."

"Well that should be fun," I said rolling my eyes. The Strigoi here didn't have enough work to keep them preoccupied all day and as a result got into a lot of fights and were far too nosy in everyone else's business. I was going to be hard making it to the kitchen so many times a day with my appetite growing like it was.

"You'll figure it out," Sam said sounding confident in my skills.

"And-"

"Hey there Annie."

I turned to look at a group of Strigoi that had just approached us from down the hall and put up my mask.

"What do you want?" Sam asked seeming nonchalant but slightly annoyed.

"Well the queen is really upset that little Rosemarie got away and is taking it out on all of us," said the same guy. "And we figure that if we push you in the light that she might just kill you and be done with it instead if picking us off one by one," said another one from behind the first guy.

"Really," I said standing up and looking them right in the eye. "Well sorry to disappoint gentleman, but I'm not in the mood to be killed today," I said in a strong voice. I couldn't look weak or my baby and I wouldn't survive.

"Well we'll just see about that." And they all attacked.

I ducked out of the way of the first punch, then I grabbed his arm that was still hanging and shoved it in front of the next guy in line. I spun around just in time to grab the leg of a girl that thought she was quicker than me. These were all new guys and girls and they didn't yet know how to fight properly, if at all. I, on the other hand, was an old pro. I tripped her and punched the first guy from before that decided I wasn't as tough as I looked.

"Aaaw look little orphan Annie doesn't want to play nice with the other kids," the first guy said bearing his teeth. "Well sorry to burst your bubble, but the queen needs a distraction and you're it." He came at me again and I decided that I had had enough. When he went to grab and bite me, I tackled him and brought him to the ground. We grappled for a while with him on top and then me. Finally I got a lucky break and got on top with enough time to cleanly break his neck.

Dead

Getting up, I looked the others in their eyes with a challenge and a warning. _Try this again and it's your neck next time. _

They seemed to get it because slowly they turned around and walked away.

"Nicly handled," Sam said from behind me.

"Must be my motherly instincts kicking in," I said placing a hand on my belly. "No one is going to hurt my baby while I have the strength to draw breath."

DPOV

After three days of straight driving, the team and I finally made it back to Court. To go all the way back here on a hunch may have been a bit extreme, but over the years of being a Guardian, I had learned to go with my gut. Something wasn't right here and it was affecting my search for Roza out there. And it did sound reasonable. Tasha was very smart. And you know what they say, if you want to hide, do it in plain sight.

Or just outside of it as the case may be. We couldn't risk getting spotted by the Guardian patrols that Court sent out so we had to keep a fair distance away, but we also needed to be close enough to see what was going on. So we settled on making a temporary base a bit further out and getting high powered binoculars (courtesy of Abe's bank account) and having a man outside near Court all times to get a closer look and see if anything suspicious happened.

This would be much easier if I could just ask one of my friends to get the information for me. But if I was right about who the spy was then I couldn't trust anyone. Not until I knew if they had been corrupted or not.

"Oi Belikov, could you give us a hand here," called out Ben. I turned around and saw that he and Leo were struggling to move some of the bigger equipment into place. I got up and gave them a hand.

"I don't know why the boss said that we need all of this stuff for anyway. I mean aren't we supposed to be traveling light?" Ben complained as he stretched after we put the heavy thing down.

"If the boss says we need it then we need it," Leo said also stretching but making a much less deal about it.

"You had better believe that we need it," said Dan, walking into the room. "What you have in there is very sensitive sound equipment that will allow us to hear everything going on within any area of Court that we select. We simply point in a direction and zero in when we like what we hear," Dan said looking smug that he had managed to get his hands on this.

But I had to admit that it was a good idea. If we could listen in on conversations without anyone knowing then we could get a much better idea of who's in league with the spy and, more importantly, who the spy is. And if we get them then we can finally start making some head way on finding Roza.

"I thought that that's why we're sending people closer so they can see what's up," said Luke as Jones played with the new toy.

"That's part of it. They tell us if they see anyone talking or acting suspicious with their high powered binoculars, and we zoom in with the sound and then bam! We catch them in the act and find our mole," Dan said still looking pleased with himself.

"How far is our range?" I asked liking what I was hearing.

"From where we are now, halfway through Court. But if we want to hear through buildings then only the first few or so. It's more of an outdoors tool," Dan said not looking quite as pleased with himself as he had before.

I grimaced. That wasn't as good as I had been hoping. What I really wanted was to get ears inside of the thrown room where the meetings were being held. Maybe I could risk a call to Abe? He sure as hell wasn't the spy. And if he just told me everything that they knew then it couldn't hurt us right? ...unless the spy was feeding them bad information. DAMN! We really had to catch this guy!

"Ok well let's get to it then, the next patrol should be coming around within the hour and I want to hear what they've got to say," I said as Jones excitedly got to work assembling his new toy.

"So what do you thinks gonna happen?"

"Beats me, but with all the recent Strigoi activity it wouldn't surprise me if we start seeing more action around here."

"About time too. I mean at first I was wondering why there even still needed to be Guardians when Hathaway already wiped out all of the Strigoi, but now I get it. There could be an out break of Strigoi tomorrow! Attacking us with our pants down!"

"Tell me about it. But they won't get me! I'm gonna..."

And on it went. We had been sitting here for hours listening to passing Guardians and patrols and all we have to show for our work so far is that some of the younger Guardians were sulking about the fact that Hans gave them patrol duty again when they really wanted to "be out there getting a piece of the action." And that some of the Dhampirs were sick of being treated like a piece of meat by the Royal Moroi, which I can relate with. But that wasn't my problem right now.

"Is there anyone else around up there?" Dan asked next to me. Nick was hiding up in a tree close to Court and telling us where to point our ear dropping device that he had decided to call "Snoopy" stupid I know. But hopefully I wouldn't have to deal with his juvenile sense of humour for much longer.

"Nothing that's setting off my radar. It just seems like your typical day at Court," Nick called back.

I slumped back in my chair and thought about the fact that I was going to have to sit through many more hours of mindless chatter.

"Chin up Belikov. At least we're making more progress here than when we were in Seattle," Dan said from next to me.

I let out a sigh. "Yeah I know, I just wish that we had more to go on then ears dropping on our own people. I mean-"

"Look alive guys I think I've got something!" Nick called out excitedly and we zoomed in on where he was looking.

_"- just seems to be acting a little weird to me that's all,_" said a voice that I didn't overly recognize but I was pretty sure he was a Guardian.

"_I'm sure it's nothing, you're just being paranoid again," _said a female voice.

_"Come on, connect the dots! You know it doesn't add up! I'll bet you fifty bucks that he's the spy!"_

_"Ugh__ this again! You think everyone's the spy! Ever since you overheard them talking about this, you've been pointing fingers at everyone in power! First it's Christian-" _

_"You know he's always been itching to follow in his parents footprints and become Strigoi!"_ The guardian defended_. _

_"Then it's Violet-"_

_"She was under there control for three years! You know she had to be corrupted...after that!" _he continued not letting up.

_"And now it's Ivan! Seriously! Next you will be accusing...himself... -"_

"What's going on? Why is it cutting out like that?" I asked panicking. This was exactly the kind of talk that we had been hoping for.

"_Well it just so...happens that I have a little bit of information that will prove...that...is the ...y,"_ he said and I cursed loudly when the static got worse.

"_Oh yeah? And what would...be?"_ the female said sounding interested.

"_Well yesterday I was out doing patrol when I just so happened to see..."_

And the signal went blank.

"What happened! Get them back now!" I shouted as Dan started fiddling with buttons and Jones went behind to check that nothing fell out of the wall.

"Don't worry Dimitri we know who they are, we can keep an eye on them for next time," Dan said when he saw the look of barely controlled rage on my face.

"We had better, that was the best lead we had gotten all day!" It might just be gossip, but Guardians were all but invisible and people talked openly around them all the time. If we were going to find something out then this was how.

"Aaa got it!" Jones called out and suddenly the sound was back on.

"_You're kidding!" _said the woman.

"_No I'm serious. That's why he's up there in the big chair getting all the bucks,"_ the guardian continued talking rubbish again.

"We missed it!" I shouted and punched the closest thing to me. Which was almost Luke.

"Woah there big guy take it easy, we've got the signal back and we will get another chance to hear what's up! Just chill ok," said Jones coming back from behind Snoopy. He was probably just worried that I would break his little toy next.

"Yeah whatever. I'm going to go for a run," I said needing to blow off some steam before I turned on my only allies.

I went outside and, making sure that I wasn't seen, started to go for a nice long run followed by whatever exercises that I could think of to leave me too exhausted to think about the opportunity that just slipped through our fingers.

TPOV

I couldn't believe it! I just couldn't believe it! We're miles underground! How did that little blood whore managed to break out of here without the door codes? And even if there was a tunnel that didn't get closed in, when had she found time to find it! I mean she was in a cell being tortured all day for crying out loud! She probably got help from so,e rouge talking llama...

I glanced back behind me as one of my minions ran up to me.

"My queen," he said bowing. "I have the status report on the outposts that you requested," he said handing me a list. I took it from him and looked over it.

"Why is the outpost in Seattle not responding?" I asked out loud, not expecting an answer.

"Because it's been wiped out," said Natalie. I looked up and saw her walking towards me without bowing and without fear. But that's because she didn't need to fear. She wasn't my second in command for nothing.

"Well at least we know where Dimka is," I said as I mused over what this new development meant as I waved off the scared little Strigoi.

"It doesn't matter. They got enough information anyway. Soon we will set our real plan into motion," Natalie said with a smile.

"True, I guess I don't need as much time to torment them now that Rose has escaped. We can move on to the next phase of the plan."

"Of course. Should I send the next tape to Court?"

I smiled as I remembered a tape that I had recorded before Dimka ran off. I would have to make a copy of that tape before I sent it off.

"Good idea. With any luck it will reach them before she does and cause even more chaos," I said still smiling.

"I'll make sure it does," Natalie said with a smile of her own. There was a reason that we were friends.

"Start making arrangements for the rest of our forces to be moved out. I want everyone in position before we make our next move. Now that Rose is gone and everyone is looking at her, no one will notice us."

"And by the time they do it will be too late," Natalie said walking along side me.

"Mark my words Nat. One month. In one months time, all of Court and the entire Moroi society as everyone knows it will come crumbling down. And we will take over," I said and started to laugh low and deadly as it echoed down the halls.

"And," Natalie said and started laughing along with me. "Kill anyone that stands in our way."

**Sorry for the filler chapter and sorry for the long wait! But I promises that next chapter will make it all worth while!**

**So how will Rose survive being Anne?**

**Is Dimitri going to find what he's looking for, or will he snap under the presser? **

**And who's side is the talking Llama on? **

**Find out next chapter...if I'm nice lol**


	22. Chapter 22

**Ok ok! There's no need to yell! I know I've been slack bit it happens to all of us! I'll try to do better next chapter!**

**But in the mean time read and enjoy!**

DauntlessTrin

SORRY SORRY SORRY! I didn't comment last chapter and now now feel terrible! I have had continuous softball tournaments, and am reading this chapter at 12:30 in the morning! I should really be asleep... Anyway, these have been wonderful chapters and I'm soooooooo sorry that I haven't been commenting. I still love you, I promise! BUt I would love you a lot more if that stupid talking llama would fess up to being the gosh darned spy already!  
Peaches!

**Well ok, your forgiven this time. But don't let it happen again!**

ilovesos9467

So, I've uncovered the biggest secret in moroi history.  
Sam is the talking Llama in a strigoi disguise. :)  
That's why he's different. And he's on Rose's side.  
Update soon :)

**Well I like your thinking! But sadly I can't tell you if your right or not because it would spoil the rest of the story:( but nice work!**

**Alex**

Ugh  
Tasha is psycho  
Is there like a level of craziness that strigoi go through? cuz she is way past that  
This gives more questions than answers!  
What the fuck were the guardians talking about? Who is the goddamn spy?  
What tape? Torture tape?  
And what in f***s name is Tasha's plan?  
Dimitri is losing it  
Rose is being hit by a f***ing bitch  
When Tasha slapped Rose i was like "Oh hell no bitch, You gonna die a painful death! Let me at her"  
And I am hungry  
I would kill for some Pizza, or chicken wings. But that is irrelevant to the story  
Oh i am stalker now?  
Okay  
You should keep your windows and curtains closed  
I have eyes and ears everywhere  
and I know everything. like the fact that you are reading this reviews now**  
**

**Well as much as I loved your review mad your stalkering abilities, I have been asked to inform you that there are other people in this house that don't have anything to do with our beloved FanFiction, so if you could reframe from bombing the place if I do something that you don't like or take to long to update that would just be GRAET!**

Rmitri

I'm really enjoying those death threat reviews...so damn funny... Never really tried anything like it... So rose surviving as Anne... Do I have mind reading skills... Let me see... Nah I don't... So nope sadly idk how's she's going to survive.. Umm.. About dimka finding out.. He has to right? I mean how will the plot go on then? Talking llama... Seems sneaky.. Maybe it's a double agent... Suspicious

**Well I can't tell you everything...but I can tell you this...you will be screaming after this chapter...**

VAGypsy

Poor Dimitri sounds like he is going to punch someone...and soon! That Llama better not get in his way! Rose is smart and inventive so she will survive, she will get the info she needs to help her friends discover Tash's lair...even though she is thinking about her baby, Rose's heart is always about protection everyone else. And what's this ? Is Tasha discriminating against the Llama and it's diet?! That's a bit consume-ist! What if the little guy prefers MacDonalds? Actually we haven't seen him for a little bit so maybe he is drowning his sorrows after being offended by Tasha, over a caramel sundae...ewwwww I want to rescue the Llama now cause I dislike macca's food! *packs bag full of carrots, apples and hay, and goes in search of  
Llama* great chapter, I can't wait until Dimitri learns he is going to be a father!

**GO TEAM LLAMA!**

**Ok ok enough :Disclaimer and all that jazz...**

_"Mark my words Nat. One month. In one months time, all of Court and entire Moroi society as everyone knows it will come crumbling down. And we will take over," I said and started to laugh low and deadly as it echoed down the halls._

_"And," Natalie said and started laughing along with me. "Kill anyone that stands in our way." _

Lissa's POV

I looked up as I heard a knock on my door. "Your Majesty," a guardian said as he walked in and bowed before speaking again. "This was just delivered for you," he said and handed me a box. I thanked him and opened it once he left...

...and wished that I hadn't.

"Christian!" I called out as I stared at the object in the box, a sick feeling washing over me.

Because inside was another tape. But what was the point? Tasha already had Rose, what other reason would there be for her to send us a tape. And why now, after all this time? Rose had been gone for months.

"What is it Liss! What's wrong?" Christian asked as he rushed into the room. I didn't say anything, I just kept looking at the box. Christian noticed this and walked over to look inside it for himself.

"Damn," was all he could manage in a muffled voice. "S..should we?..." he quietly asked, sounding like he didn't know the right answer or not.

"We have to. What if it's something important," I said feeling stiff and robot like as I forced myself to get up out of my chair and play the tape.

I noticed immediately that this tape wasn't like the others. Because this one was in black and white, which was odd enough. But it was also of much poorer quality. It started off as just a room. But as the camera got closer I noticed that there were two people in it. And not just any two, it was Tasha and Rose!

I let a sob out as I saw Rose for the first time in months, I could barely make out any of her features, but even with the bad light and picture, I could tell how pale she had gotten without any sunlight, her skin looking even paler in contrast to her black hair...black?. And I could still tell that she had undergone beatings recently. She looked thinner too, I bet Tasha was starving her...

"_Well hello there Dimka,_" Tasha said in a sing- song voice that almost sounded like her old one...if it weren't for the under-layer of ice and no feeling in her new voice.

_"I understand that you are quite fond of little Rosemarie's hair." _Tasha continued stroking Rose's long hair and playing with it like Dimitri used to. It looked so straight and dull, not at all the way that Rose used to wear it and take care of it.

_"Well sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm afraid that you won't be playing with it for a while... or ever again for that matter," s_he said with a smile as she picked up a pair of scissors and started cutting Rose's hair off!

"No!" I cried even though I knew that there was nothing that I could do to stop her. I watched helplessly as Tasha cut Rose's waist long beautiful hair to just above her shoulders.

Rose was trying to be brave about it but I could to tell even without her making a sound that this was breaking her heart. She loved her long hair and she knew that Dimitri did too!

When Tasha was finished she put the scissors down and admired her handy work.

"_Now isn't that better?" _Tasha said in a sweet voice. "_Now it won't get in the way so much when I'm trying to cut you,"_ she finished in a cold voice again and I shivered just hearing it.

The tape ended there and I couldn't hold back the tears as I cried into Christian chest.

"Shhh Liss it's ok, her hair will grow back, you might even be able to find a way to help it grow faster! I mean look at what you can do with plants without even trying!" he said trying to comfort me. And it would have worked, if it weren't for one thing.

"But we don't even know if we will ever see her again!" I sniffed.

"Don't talk like that, I'm sure she's fine. Have you ever known Rose to give up when there's a fight to be had?" Christian said rubbing my back soothingly. "And she looked ok on the tape, I'm sure that she's giving Tasha hell right now!"

Yes, she had looked ok. A bit pale and worse for wear but nothing that could keep Rose down. I looked back at the blank screen again, just to make sure that it was really over...when I realized that it wasn't, not by a long shot.

"Christian...the...the tape," I stuttered.

"What about it?" Christian asked as he looked over to where I was looking. And gasped when he saw the same thing that I did.

On the screen was the time, date, month and year that this tape had been recorded...and it was over a month old.

RPOV

I looked both ways again and made sure that no one was following me before I made my way to the kitchen. I was getting more and more hungry by the day and it was starting to show. I had been pretending to be Anne for about a month now and it was getting harder and harder to act like the rest of the group when I was not only a Dhampir, but a pregnant Dhampir.

I couldn't drink blood in front of everyone like the others and that was bad enough. But even though I had held my own in more than a few fights since becoming Anne, I didn't get into them all the time like the others. I just couldn't risk hurting the baby.

And now I was making my way to the kitchen to get food at least five to six times a day! I was just hungry all the time. The food here might not be the best, but they had stockpiled several food stuff for when they were holding me captive so at least I had enough.

I wanted bacon and noodles and boy was I sure craving some apples right now. Weird? Well maybe, but you try being pregnant and only having limited food to chose from and tell me what you start craving!

I made sure that my hair was properly tucked under my wig and tied them both up before I started getting to food ready. I couldn't risk getting food in it and having the others asking how it got there.

I had just finished defrosting a packet of bacon and heating up a packet of noodles, when I heard a noise. I quickly ducked out of the way behind a counter as I heard someone coming in.

"What the?" asked a voice that I didn't recognize, clearly wondering why human food was cooking if I wasn't their prisoner anymore. There were more Strigoi down here than I had originally thought which was good. The more of them there were, the less chance of them realizing that I wasn't the real Anne.

I listened closely for a few minutes until it was completely quiet in the kitchen again. After he left, and after waiting another five minutes just to be on the safe side, I got up and started to eat. My morning sickness had cut back but I did get the occasional spell. The mood swings and out of control hormones were another matter though. I went from wanting to cry my eyes out at not having Dimitri by my side to wanting to stake every Strigoi that walked by me for being a part of the reason of why I wasn't by Dimitri's side at least ten times a day.

I had tried and failed to convince Sam of picking the lock on the door and helping me make a run for it. But he said that it would do no good and to just wait until Tasha starts sending teams out to the outposts.

I was just thinking about having seconds while I was here- when suddenly someone walked into the kitchen!

"What? Anne? W...Why are you eating human food? the Strigoi asked shocked.

"I..I..aaa.." _Crap_!

Realisation crossed his eyes. "You're not An-" and he was dead before he even got to finish his sentence.

"Great," I muttered. Now what was I supposed to do with the body?

"You messed up," said another voice and I was up and had my stake at the ready before I realized who it was.

"Sorry but when a pregnant lady has to eat, you didn't get in the way of it!" I said to Sam as I put my stake away.

"We will have to put him in the freezer. The others will smell him otherwise," Sam said in a cold calculating tone. He didn't care that I just killed a Strigoi, he just wanted to eat chocolate again. A soon to be man after my own heart.

"Fine help me with him." And together we maneuvered him into the walk in freezer that my food was kept in.

"When is Tasha finally going to start sending us out? I thought that me "escaping" was supposed to be the turning point to make her step up her plans," I said deciding that I did need some more food because I didn't want to make this trip anymore often than I had to.

"It did. Tasha was planning on torturing you for much longer before she set her plans in motion. Now that her favorite entertainment is gone, she's focusing on the big picture again," Sam said smelling my food and sighing longfully.

"Lucky me," I said sarcastically and started chowing. "But she had better start moving her plans up even faster if I'm ever going to get out of here before I get even bigger," I said and rubbed my stomach. I had already gone up two pants sizes since becoming Anne and had taken to wearing a long button down jacket over my stomach to drawl attention away from it (Dimitri's duster being my Inspiration) With the jacket, it was mostly unnoticeable. But if I ever had to take it off...well let's just hope that it never comes to that. If I kept growing like this then I would run out of cloths to wear!

As if reading my mind (which I swear he sometimes could!) Sam said, "We need to find you bigger clothes. Come with me when you're done and I'll see what I can find. It's best if we're not caught around here too much anyway. The Strigoi might talk."

"Don't have to tell me twice," I said and followed Sam out the door and in search of bigger clothes.

DPOV

One month. One month! Of nothing but pointless chatter, or gossip about the latest Moroi scandal, of lower Moroi complaining that they didn't get any Guardians. Or Royals that complained that their guardians weren't good enough, and one pointless thing after another! And not one of those things pointed us in the right direction of who the spy was or of anyone that might know where my Roza was! At this point, I was this close to strapping a bunch of blood packets to my body and walking out into the middle of the woods with a sigh around my neck saying C_ome and get me Tasha!_

I was also this close to going nuts and breaking the stupid "Snoopy" if I had to sit through one more conversation between two Moroi women gossiping about how long it was going to take me to give up on finding Rose and return to Court and do my duty...and to hopefully replace Rose with someone of "higher breeding and class".

As if any of them could possibly comprehend on the smallest of scales how much Rose and I meant to each other. Love like ours was rare in our world, and for two Dhampirs...it was unheard of. So it was all I could do not to break things when they started talking like that.

"This is getting us nowhere!" I said and slammed my fist down in the desk. "We need to take this to the next level and infiltrate Court and get information right from the source." I was done listening and I was certainly done sitting around and doing nothing while my Roza was in danger.

"Easy there Belikov, I know it might seem hopeless now but we're actually getting some good Intel. Just sit tight for a bit longer. Use that famous self control that we're always hearing about," Dan said with a smile, like this was all some big joke. Well it wasn't! What we were doing and how fast we did it was the difference between finding my Roza alive or finding her body!

And I was just about to express that sentiment as colorfully as possible- when Nick sounded over the radio sounding very excited.

_"Hey you two love birds, break it up and listen to what I've got here."_

"We hear you Rogue three, what have you got for us?" Dan asked and I moved back over to hear.

"_Well you know the blood delivery van that came last week?"_ Nick asked leading up to something.

We both nodded. It was widely known that there were so many Moroi in Court that there weren't enough feeders to go around without it becoming suspicious to the outside world. Not to mention that the Moroi didn't like too many humans staying in Court. So only the Royals got feeders and fresh blood from the vein. The other Moroi had to settle for blood packets. So every week a blood delivery van would come to Court and stock up on supplies.

"What about it?" I asked wanting to find out what he had.

_"Well I've been watching him come in and out of Court for a month now and I've noticed a pattern. Courtesy of Snoopy, we've found out that lately the van has been carrying double the amount of packets than it normally does. And that thanks to my awesome skills as a look out and these shiny new binoculars that Papa Abe got us, I've been able to find out that after the van leaves Court it makes an unscheduled stop in the woods. Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern and four times... well you know. So he stops and dumps the blood packets into the woods a couple of miles away from here and then keeps going on his merry way."_

"You can see clearly that far into the woods?" Dan asked excitedly. Where there was a lot of blood, there would be Strigoi.

_"Sadly no. But I can see when the van gets back onto the main road out of Court and that as it goes over the second speed bump it doesn't bottom out like it does in the first speed bump out of Court. And you know what that means?"_ Nick asked with a smile in his voice.

"That the van got lighter somewhere in between leaving Court and going onto the main road," I said a smile making it's way into my lips.

_"And what would make it lighter I wonder?_" Nick pondered before answering his own question. "_Oh I know! Maybe dumping it's packets into the woods!"_

"Good work Rogue three, get back here and we will play back the tape to find out where the van turned off and find out where these son of a bitches are hiding."

Ten minutes later, we were all geared up and ready to go. We had played back the tape and had narrowed it down to a small area in the woods that was a bit outside of Court. Enough not to draw attention to themselves and outside of where the perimeter guards walk but close enough for a surprise attack. And perfect for a Strigoi attack.

"Alright men. Search the area but don't engage if you see a blood sucker. We still don't know where their base is so observe and call it in," Dan said once we arrived.

We split up and searched. We were all looking for the pile of blood packets that must have been dumped here, because that's what the Strigoi would be after. And that meant finding tire tracks.

I looked around and found out which direction Court was in and went on from there like the van would have. And sure enough after a few minutes, I found it.

"This is Rogue one I've got a visual on the blood pakets, sending location now." A chorus of "roger" came over a few second later and a minute later we were all watching the blood and waiting for the Strigoi to make their move.

This was it. I felt my heart racing in anticipation. I was going to finally get my Roza back, all that stood between us was a bunch of Strigoi and a hidden door!

After what felt like an eternity later, but had probably only been five minutes, the moment that I had finally been waiting for had arrived. Because right in front of me the earth moved and a...lift came up in to view.

I'm not sure what I had been expecting, but a lift hadn't been it. I shook it off though, it wasn't important right now. I saw a Strigoi walk off out of the lift pushing a trolly in front of her. She looked to be in her 30s when she was turned and possibly a Moroi. Why only one? If Tasha wanted to keep her base a secret then it would be quicker to send a team. Oh well it didn't matter, they would all soon be dead anyway.

"Ok ladies it's party time!" Dan called out and we attacked.

The Strigoi looked up in shock and didn't even manage to let loose a scream before I staked her in the heart.

"Well that was fun but let's get into the real action!" Jones said and we all went to the lift.

"What are they even doing with this?" Jones mutters as he worked the lift and made it move us down. I wondered if "the real action" for him was the lift. Meh a man has to have a hobby I guess.

But all thought of Jones's obsession with mechanics was forgotten when the lift doors opened.

Everyone was silent as the doors were opened, and we were met with a sea of Strigoi in front of us waiting for blood that was never going to come. We all just looked at each other in surprise for a second before I raised my stake and we all got into it.

I punched the first Strigoi that came at me and moved onto the next without even bothering to see where the first one landed. I blocked a jump for my throat and staked that one quickly before the next one tried to punch me in the stomach. I twisted his arm around and used him as a shield while I kept fighting and staking the others all around me.

I really wish that I was with Rose right now. There was no one else that I trusted as much to watch my back.

I took the legs out of the next Strigoi before staking him, and as I raised myself up I staked another one without even trying. How many of these guys were there down here? By now the hallway was getting littered with Strigoi bodies and it was getting hard to move. I ran down the hall a bit to get clear and to start my search.

"Roza!" I called out. She had to be down here somewhere. And even if she was being guarded, if she called out to me then I could find her and free her.

"Roz-" I was cut off by two Strigoi spear tackling me. A sure sign that undead vampires like football too. One held me down while the other tried to bite me. But neither succeeded and I staked them both before continuing down the corridor and calling out for Roza.

"Roza are you down here?" I shouted as I staked another Strigoi that tried to follow me. I looked around and realized for the first time where I was. This was an old Court prison! Hundreds of years ago, Court was much closer to where the humans lived, back when it was ok for a humans and a Moroi to be together. And this prison cell was under where Court used to be. But when it was decided that the Moroi would have no further contact with the humans Court was moved and this place was forgotten. Until now it seems. I only knew about it because of the last time that Rose had been kidnapped I had gone over every file and blueprint we had on record in case anything useful came from it.

And it did. Because I now knew where the holding cells were and I bet my stake that that's where my Roza was being held! I ran even faster, desperate to find her and hold her in my arms again.

I rounded a corner and found the cells. I ran down looking in every cell that I passed, not shouting out anymore so they wouldn't hear me coming. I ran all over and was getting frantic. Where was she? I was almost at the last cell so I ran full force, caution of walking into a trap be damned!

I looked into the last cell...and almost wished that I hadn't. Shock washed through me and my mind went blank as my eyes landed on my Roza for the first time in three months.

I was stunned silent. Because the sight in front of me shouldn't have been possible. Roza, my Roza, was standing right in front of me. For a moment a look of joy crossed her face and I felt my heart melt. But then it shifted and she looked at me with red rimmed eyes filled with shock and fear.

"R...Roza..? I asked unsure of what I was seeing. This wasn't possible. She was already a Strigoi once, she couldn't be turned again. Could she? I know being shadow kissed had made her different last time, did it also make it possible to be turned more than once?

"Dimitri," Rose whispered almost as shocked and scared as I was. She shook her head looking panicked. "W...what are you doing here?" she asked hugging herself and I swear she was about to cry. Behind me I heard Strigoi running and a few of them calling out for retreat. But I just kept staring.

"Roza..what has she done to you?" I asked lost. This wasn't at all the reunion that I had imagine. I pictured her running into my arms and holding her tight and kissing her deeply and passionately and telling her over and over again how much I loved, and then finally the two of us leaving this place together. Not seeing her turned Strigoi again.

"I...I.." Rose said lost for words.

"Come back with me Roza," I said as quickly realizing that it didn't matter to me if she was turned again, she was still my Roza and I still loved her the same. "Please Roza, Lissa can turn you back just like last time, everything will be ok again I promise. Just take my hand. Please, I love you," I whispered and held out my hand to her to, looking deep into her eyes and telling her how much I loved her.

Her eyes widened and a smile brightened up her face and for a moment I thought that she was going to take my hand and that everything would be right with the world again. But then I heard a cough and Rose looked surprised at the other side of the cell. It was then that I realized that there was another Strigoi in here with us. I got into a fighting stance and got ready to stake him when Rose called out-

"No!"

I looked at her in shock and confusion.

"He...he's a friend," she said and held herself a little tighter. What was up with her? She looks so closed off and scared. Was she afraid of me?

I had seen her as a Strigoi before, hell I had kissed her as a Strigoi before, so why was she so afraid this time? She was just the same as last time. Red eyes, pale skin, short black hair, which was new, _I would have to stake Tasha later for that_, baggy clothes and...and...my mouth hung open in shock. No no no no no no that wasn't possible. I must have been seeing things, Strigoi couldn't get...couldn't get pregnant!

"Roza? Are...are you..." I could finish the question as I looked at her in confusion. I looked into her eyes, and she started crying.

"I'm so sorry Dimitri," was all she said. But I still didn't understand. How could this have happened? Strigoi couldn't get pregnant. Right? I mean we didn't know for sure but, well it wasn't possible! Even if Rose had slept with a Moroi this time, which I doubted, she still shouldn't have been able to get pregnant!

This had better not be a sick joke by that damn talking llama...

Rose must have seen the realization on my face and buried her face in her hands and cried even harder. My instincts shouted at me to run to her and hold her in my arms. But I couldn't make my body move, I just stood there shocked into stillness.

"Say something! Please!" she begged as she cried. But I couldn't move. I just kept standing there looking at her.

Suddenly Rose shook her head and, still crying her eyes out, ran past me and out of the cell. The other Strigoi in here ran after her and I let them both go. I just couldn't make myself move. Or think straight. I just stood there and let Rose run out of my life again.

RPOV

Sam lead me to the far end of the prison to the very last cell that he had been storing up all the things that he needed to keep me looking like Anne. Not many Strigoi came out this way so it was safe enough to keep things here. And it's not like any of the others would put the pieces together if they did find this place. Sam walked over to where he kept the clothes and started looking through them, holding them up against my body to see if they were the right fit.

"Now we need to keep it black because it's more sliming and right now you need as much of that as you can get," he said in a gay voice again. He often did goofy and crazy stuff like that when we were alone, and I was so glad that he did. Because I needed a laugh every now and then to keep me sane in this place.

"Mmm ok try this on," he said tossing my the pants and turning around. As I did what I was told, I heard some commotion in the other side of the prison.

"What's going on over there?" I asked as I changed.

"It's feeding time. The blood is being delivered by Natalie. She's the only one that Tasha trust with the codes. It's always a fight to get fed first with at lot," Sam said without turning around. It sounded a lot worse today then it normally did, but the Strigoi were probably just sick of being cooped up here non stop and were looking for a fight.

I took my jacket off and changed my pants. "What do you think?" I asked and Sam turned around.

"Not bad. It hugs your hips more than your stomach and is a bit reinforced so it makes you look a bit flatter. With your jacket on no one will be able to tell."

I smiled and was about to put my jacket back on- when suddenly Dimitri came storming through the cell door.

I gasped. Dimitri, my Dimitri! Here! I felt my eyes start to tear up and my heart start to beat harder and a smile spread across my face. He was here! He had come for me. I wanted to run over to him and crash him in my arms and never let him go again!

But then I saw the look of shock on his face.

"R...Roza..? he asked as he took in my new appearance and I felt my heart plummet. I was a Strigoi to him again. And while he may have loved me as a Strigoi before, it was different this time. Because now I was pregnant, and I wasn't wearing my jacket to hide it!

"Dimitri," I whispered my voice coming out thin and scared. I wasn't sure why, blame the damn hormones. But I was suddenly so scared that he was just going to turn his back on me and walk out of the cell and leave me forever. I shook my head to try and get rid of that thought and forced myself to speak again.

"W..what are you doing here?" I meant to ask how he had found me here because I knew darn well what he was doing here. But I couldn't think straight, I just hugged myself tighter and tried not to think about his reaction when he found out.

I distantly heard Strigoi running and a few of them calling out for retreat. But I didn't care.

"Roza..what has she done to you?" Dimitri asked looking lost as he took in my appearance.

"I...I.." I didn't know what to say. 'Its not what it looks like'? Well no because it was exactly what it looked like. I was pregnant and I sure looked like a Strigoi right now so that didn't really leave me with a lot of options. I was about to cry and beg him to listen to me and hear my side of the story before he made a decision - But I should have known better than to think that Dimitri would turn his back on me that easily.

"Come back with me Roza," he said with strength and determination in his voice. "Please Roza, Lissa can turn you back just like last time, everything will be ok again I promise. Just take my hand. Please, I love you," he whispered that last part and held out his hand looking deep into my eyes.

I almost melted when he said that and took his hand right then, but I heard Sam cough from the other side of the cell and I realized that I had forgotten him. Part of the reason that he was helping me was so that he could get saved to. I had to tell Dimitri that he was coming with us.

Dimitri followed my eyes and realized that there was a Strigoi in the cell. He quickly got into a fighting stance and got ready to stake him when I called out-

"No!"

Dimitri looked at me, shock and confusion plain on his face. And I couldn't blame him. I mean since when does a Guardian, trained since birth to kill Strigoi, stop another Guardian from trying to kill a Strigoi?

"He...he's a friend," was all I could think to say, as I held myself a litle tighter, trying to make my scattered brain focus. What was I doing? I couldn't leave yet. True I was in no state to be hanging around a killer swarm of Strigoi. But I hadn't found out what Tasha's evil plan was yet! If I left then the Guardians were as good as blind in the coming attack. I wanted so badly to run into Dimitri's arms and forget that any of this had ever happened. But I couldn't leave yet.

I looked Dimitri in the eye to tell him that I couldn't leave until I found out what Tasha was up to. But he wasn't looking at me. Well he was, but not at my face, he was taking in my body, all the changes that had been made, my pale skin and eyes, my short hair, boy was Tasha going to pay for that one! True she hadn't been the one to cut it, but Dimitri didn't know that, and I didn't have to correct him just yet...

He was just looking down at my new clothes.. when suddenly it happened. His eyes widened and his mouth hung open and shock covered his face.

_No, no, no, no, Dimitri please don't hate me! I didn't cheat on you I swear_! I wanted to shout out the words but my throat closed up and I couldn't get anything out.

"Roza? Are...are you..." Dimitri said confusion in his voice as he looked me over again, and when he got to my eyes I couldn't help it. I started crying.

"I'm so sorry Dimitri," was all I could manage before I started crying harder. I could see him trying to make sense of this in his head, trying to think of how it was possible for a Strigoi to get pregnant and not understanding how. And I was sure that I saw disgust on his face. He didn't even say anything! He just kept staring at me, not moving. Why didn't he say anything! I couldn't take looking a him anymore so I buried my face in my hands and kept crying.

What was I going to do? I knew that if I could just make myself speak up, that if I just told him the truth, that he was the father and that it had happened before I was kidnapped, then he would believe me. But I couldn't make myself say the words. It felt like it was too late, like everything was coming crashing down on me and that there was nothing that I could do to stop it.

"Say something! Please!" I begged, I couldn't take the silence any longer. I needed to know if he was mad at me or not. I knew that it was a stupid thought, but you try being pregnant behind enemy lines. It messes with your head!

But when Dimitri just kept standing there looking at me blankly I crumbled. I couldn't take looking at him right now. I had to get away. I shook my head and ran past Dimitri out of the cell and down the hall and out the back door where all of the others were disappearing to. And he didn't even try to stop me.

I realized that Sam was following me but I didn't care. I wasn't even paying attention to where I was going, I just kept running.

Once I got outside, I realized that I was in a forest somewhere. I looked around and then just picked a direction at random and kept running, I never wanted to stop I wanted to run until I was so exhausted that the memory of Dimitri standing there staring at me like I was some kind of stranger went away and I was numb to the world.

I ran for I don't know how long and eventually I stopped and all but collapsed after running so much. I heard someone coming up behind me and realized that I should probably get my stake ready just in case, but it was only Sam. He bent down next to me and looked me over before saying-

"It's almost day time. I need to get to cover and I'm not leaving you alone like this." He then picked me up and carried me over to an empty house before breaking in and carrying me to the main bedroom. He set me gently down and even tucked me in. I had never seen this caring side to Sam before and I was so glad that I had him to lean on right now.

"Just rest, when you wake up I'll make you some real food and then we can focus on our next move. Don't worry about a thing. Dimitri will come around I know he will, he just needs a little time to adjust."

Sam walked out the door and I fell into a deep and much needed sleep hoping that tomorrow would be better.

**Wow that was a big one! Sorry that it wasn't a nice reunion...but spoiler alert! That's next chapter;) **

**So what is Rose going to do now?**

**How is Tasha going to take her bace getting crashed?**

**And how will Dimitri ever make it up to Rose for letting her run off like that? Well stay tuned and find out!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Ok for all of you lovely reviewers I have put in extra effort to get this to you fast! So without further ado (and some more funny reviews) I give you the reunion!**

DauntlessTrin

First of all... HOW DARE YOU END IT THERE? THAT ISN'T FAIR!  
I'M GOING TO ORDER THE TALKING LLAMA BOB TO RIP OUT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOUR HAIRS AND MAKE YOU A DOLL OUT OF IT! Idk where that came from. Omg! Did Sam take Rose to... the cabin? Like THE cabin? Rose is going make herself look normal again and run into Dimitri's arms. I bet the nuts-o Tasha is gonna kill herself or something. That would be very nice. I'm personally afraid of my answer to the last question, so let's just leave that one alone.  
ChaCha

**HA well first of all he had better have a lot of time on his hands...or hoofs?...because I have a LOT of hair. And second no! No one is allowed to take Rose to the cabin except Dimitri! And as for Tasha...well read on and find out!**

Alex:What the f*** did i just read?!  
Is there something wrong with the website?  
Did that just happen?  
Poor Dimitri must be so confused  
Why the hell didn't Rose say anything?! Damn hormones  
That f*** moroi that said Rose should be replaced by "higher breeding and class" can kiss my a**!  
The tape was Tasha cutting Anne's hair, which is stupid cuz she has tapes of actual torture  
"How is Tasha going to take her base crashed?" Oh she will accept it and move on. NOT. she is gonna be so f*** pissed steam is going to come out of her ears!  
I means she is already psycho but she will take crazy to the next level!  
now that this is out of the way:

HOW DARE YOU QUESTION MY STALKER SKILLS!  
IF I WANT TO BLOW UP A HOUSE I WILL !  
I MIGHT JUST TO MAKE A POINT!  
but I am kind enough not to  
I will just kidnap you and put you in an abundant warehouse  
Then blow up the warehouse

**Well that's very thoughtful of you lol. And I added Tasha cutting Anne's hair because Tasha didn't actually recored her torturing Rose because at that point Dimitri had already run off and she didn't know where to send the tapes. But she recorded cutting Anne's hair off before she got Rose just in cace something happened...and she's a sick freak that liked to pretend that she was actually hurting Rose **

Padli angel

You were right. I did scream. And let me tell you if I didn't live across the world from you(aka. Europe), I would hunt you down and make you pay!

**Aaaaaa death threats, music to my ears lol**

Rue-xx:IF YOU UPDATE TOMORROW, I SWEAR I'LL GET YOUR REVIEWS TO 300 SINGLEHANDEDLY! I. WANT. THE. REUNION. PLLLEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! :O :'(

**I'm sorry I couldn't do that, but I got it done as fast as possible and my beta is working over time evan though it's her birthday! But I hope that this was soon enough for you:) and I hope that that offer is still good...:)**

**So again here it is. Disclaimer: HAPPY BIRTHDAY Rocio3452! Oh and I don't own VA.**

_"Just rest, when you wake up I'll make you some real food and then we can focus on our next move. Don't worry about a thing. Dimitri will come around I know he will, he just needs a little time to adjust." _

_Sam walked out the door and I fell into a deep and much needed sleep, hoping that tomorrow would be better. _

Tasha's POV

I was walking down the hall almost absentmindedly when it happened. I was just ironing out the time line for when my swarm went into the big attack. Almost everyone was in position, and as soon as I got the go ahead from all of the outposts, I would give the last of the swarm here their marching orders.

I was just finishing off that happy thought when I heard the commotion down the hall.

_Huh, there's not usually that much noise at feeding time. _I thought as I went over to investigate...and walked in to what had to be the closest thing to a nightmare that a Strigoi could have.

The lift opened up and instead of seeing Natalie, my faithful second in command, I see an elevator full of pathetic excuses of Guardians that have just launched an attack on my unsuspecting troops!

"No!" I scream and threw myself into the attack! _How dare they! They think that they can just come in here and destroy all of my hard work! Don't they know how hard it was to get a spy into Court! To break out? To start an army from scratch? They would pay for this! They would all pa... Dimka? _

I looked behind me and sure enough there he was, standing there in all his 6'7 glory. Well maybe this wasn't so bad after all. I may have lost Rose, and with that all chances of making them both suffer a bit more before I make Dimka turn with the false hope that I would spare his little blood whore if he did...

But now that he was here, I would cut out the middle man and just sink my teeth into his sweet flesh right now and make him mine.

I smiled at the thought and went forward to do just that...when one of the Guardians jumped in front of me!

"Sorry sweet fangs," he said with a cocky smile. "But Dimitri is on a mission to get his girl back and I'm just a sucker for a happy ending, so I'd like to see that happen."

I was so stunned by that sentence that I almost didn't move in time when he tried to stake me. Who was this guy? Was Rose teaching her pathetic witty comebacks and attitude to the others in Court? Well it's a good thing that I'm planning on overthrowing that place before it gets a chance to spread.

I reach out to grab him and break that annoying mouth of his, but he danced out of my grasp. He was light on his feet. He came back in with a low- high combo but I dodged that as well. He's fast, but I'm faster. Finally I get a lucky break and grab one of his arms and twist him so that he can't get me with the other and I'm about to bit him and end this fight- when I get body slammed!

"Sorry miss, but I can't let you do that, Nick is the class clown and the others just might start tearing each other new ones if he's not around to make wise cracks all the time," said a man older than the rest. Must be the leader.

"It won't matter if he's gone because after today there won't be a team for him to belong to," I said and lunged for him as well...or try to. But suddenly someone called out.

"Retreat!" And I'm wiped away with a swarm of Strigoi bodies all running for the back door.

"No no no! Get back there and fight you cowards!" I shout out with all of my authority, but it's no good. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Dimka standing in a cell talking to someone and I try my best of get away from everyone so that I can just get Dimka to myself. But one of the younger, more stupid, Strigoi seems to think that he is my body guard and seeing that I've stopped, picked me up and throws me over his shoulder!

"Put me down you simpleton!" I shout out. But he's either to dumb to understand what that means or thinks he's doing me a big favour and that I'll thank him later for it.

"Don't worry my Queen, I'll get you to safety," he said as I struggle to get away. But it's too late, were out of the base and scattered.

_Next time Dimka, next time you'll be mine._

RPOV

I wake up after I don't know how long to the smell of heaven. Something mouthwatering is cooking and I want it in my belly NOW! I sit up slowly and stretch my sore muscles. _Why was I so sore? I hadn't done much lately_\- then it all comes back to me. The base, the attack, the look of shock on Dimitri's face before I ran away.

Wow. A lot can really happen in five minutes.

I just sit there for a while, collecting my thoughts. I had a feeling that if my stupid hormones hadn't gotten in the way then yesterday would have ended a whole lot differently. Why did I freak out like that? Why did I run? I was so stupid!

I face palmed myself. Why did I think that Dimitri would ever judge me? Would be mad at me? Would think that anything that I said would be less than the absolute truth! I know how much he loves me, I mean he even tried to get me to go with him when he thought that I was a Strigoi...again!

'_What are you doing here?_' Seriously? The first time that I talk to my fiancé in three months and the first thing I think to say is _what are you doing here!_ Could I have sounded any lamer?

And '_I'm sorry Dimitri'_ sorry for what? I hadn't done anything wrong! I had gotten pregnant by him, and had dressed up like the enemy to protect myself and protect our baby. So why was the next thing to come not of my mouth _I'm so sorry! _

And now I was crying! Aaaaaaa these darn hormones! I needed to get something to eat.

I got up out of bed and followed my nose to where the food was. I looked outside and realized that it was just on dark now, early in the Strigoi world, Sam wouldn't even be able to step outside for another hour or so.

"Good morning," Sam said and turned around to give me a smile and try to get me to return it.

Well he succeeded, because the apron that he was wearing said in pretty letters "_what's a nice girl like me doing in a place like this?"_

"Yeah it is," I said eyeing off the food. I don't know whose house this is but I love there tast in food. There was everything! Bacon, eggs, hash brown, pancakes and a whole bowl of apples!

"Sam you're beautiful," I said biting into the first apple that my hands found.

"Tell me something I don't know darling," he said sounding like a house wife Barbie.

The next half an hour passed in mostly silence while I inhaled everything that Sam cooked. And after a diet of mostly defrosted and packet food this was a real feast.

"So you want anymore? I could look in the cabinets," Sam offered as he watched me eat with an equal mix of happiness and jealousy. I hoped that we could work everything out and that he could eat chocolate again.

"I'm good for now but thanks," I said getting up and putting my plate in the sink. I sat back down and looked at Sam.

"So what now?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked back.

"I mean that the base was trashed and we have no idea what Tasha or the swarm are planning to do next."

"And I mean why does that matter now? You're free, you can go back to Dimitri and live happily ever after. You're months pregnant, you can't be hanging around the swarm anymore if you don't have to. It's not safe."

The next words that I said hurt like sand paper running across my throat, but I said them anyway. "But I can't go back to Court now, I have to find out what Tasha is planning or we're all just sitting ducks for her next attack."

"I could go back and spy on them and tell you their plans."

I shook my head again. "Tasha will notice my absence more, you know she always likes to keep Anne close by."

"True, but you could just pretend that you were killed in the raid, I could say that I saw it happen. You just don't want to go back now that you didn't go running into Dimitri's arms like you wanted," Sam said, far too smart for his own good.

"I don't know what happened," I said leaning my head down on the table. "Everything just happened so fast and I got so nervous about telling him about the baby and - and he was there looking at me confused as hell that I was pregnant and I...I was just being a hormonal mess."

"I don't really understand your relationship, but from what you've told me, Dimitri would forgive you for just about anything. So why not just go back to Court and find him?" Sam said finally taking off his stupid apron...that I actually liked.

"Yeah, maybe." I said absentmindedly rubbing my belly. Just then Sam's head jerked up.

"What is it?" I asked on alert for attack.

"It's a message over the air waves," he said distractedly, like he was listening to something very far away and only half listening to me.

"I can't hear anything," I said getting up and walking over to where he was standing against the counter.

"Strigoi ears are like dogs, we can hear things on a different frequencies than humans.

"What's the message?"

"We're all to rendezvous at the back up base tomorrow for further orders. Tasha is moving up the attack plan...Anyone not there will... be hunted down and killed on sight."

"Well she's understanding," I said sarcastically.

"It's her way of making sure that none of us go on a killing rampage and give away our position. All the Guardians know so far was that we we're close to Court, but they don't know that we're still in the area. And Tasha still wants to take over so she's still ruling with an iron fist.

"We're near Court?" I asked excited.

"Yeah a few miles out. But unless you want to steal car I don't think that you should go there now. Maybe in the morning..." Sam trailed off as he kept on listening.

"Huh, well that's odd. "

"What?" I asked wondering what else could go wrong with my day.

"Well it seems that the spy at Court hasn't heard any word of the attack, so Court won't be sending any reinforcements. Tasha doesn't want us to make a scene so we don't attract their attention."

"How could Court not know about it? Dimitri would have called it in before they even attacked. It's not like him to go against the book."

"Well it seems that the spy had managed to cover that up as well."

"Well if the spy knows everything then why haven't they told Tasha that I'm not at Court yet?" I wondered. Even if I got lost it wouldn't have taken me a month to get back.

"I don't know. But I think that if you show up tomorrow she will know that something's up."

"You think she will change her plans?" I asked.

"We don't even know what her plans are."

"Not yet, but we will after tomorrow," I said with an evil grin.

"And you will be even more pregnant than today." Sam said not dropping it.

"True." I didn't really know what I wanted to do now. Well that's not true, I wanted with everything in me to go back to Court and be with my friends and family again. And I especially wanted to be back in Dimitri's arms again. But right now I kind of wanted to be alone for a while.

"I'm going to go for a walk," I said getting up. I still looked like a Strigoi so I shouldn't be in danger, and I had my stake just in cace.

"Where?" Sam asked with a concerned frown. He was such a mother hen.

"There's a nice little park not far from here that Dimitri and I used to run to sometimes. I like to go there to unwind and think when Court life gets to much." It went unsaid that I really needed to unwind right now.

"All right, but don't be too long, Tasha won't like it if one of the others tells her that you were loitering around human hangouts.

"I'll be fine," I said as I walked out the door and looked around. It was only about a ten minute walk from here. I took a deep breath as I started walking and thought about my next move. I wanted to pick up the phone and call Lissa or Dimitri and just go home. But I couldn't leave Sam on his own. But I was about five months pregnant. Maybe it was time to throw in the towel. After all, Tasha was sure to try and kill me on sight anyway. But maybe I could go to the meeting tomorrow and then leave? Then I could tell Court their plans and not hurt the baby. But then Tasha would know that I wasn't there anymore...

I got to the park and sat down on the swings and started rocking back and forth gently, my mind going back to all of the times that Dimitri and I came here and how I would beg him to push me on the swings just because I could.

My mind was so full of things that it was nice to just let go and relaxed for a while. I started pushing myself a bit faster enjoying the wind in my hair. I had the sudden urge to go really fast and then do a flip as I jumped off like I used to. Dimitri would just shake his head and smile that adorable smile of his...But I don't think that I should be doing anything like that in my condition.

I was so lost in the memory that I didn't even notice the figure coming towards me. I immediately stopped and reached for my stake...when he spoke.

"Roza?"

DPOV

I walked back to our camp on auto pilot. The others had all wanted to know what happened and if I had found Rose. But I had just said no and nothing else before I went off to go for a run and clear my head.

I had no idea what was going on right now, but I knew that I had to protect Roza. I didn't care that she was a Strigoi, but a pregnant Strigoi? She would be locked up in a lab, have experiment done on her and the baby all day! I couldn't let that happen. I had to find her and protect her.

But how had she gotten pregnant in the first place? We were both Dhampirs so that was out of the question. And she wouldn't cheat on me, Strigoi or not. So that left just one option. Rose was...mistreated.

My fist clenched and I saw red. If I ever found the miserable piece of filth that did that to my Roza then I would personally make sure that his end would not be quick and painless. It would be slow, agonizing, and never ending.

As for the bastard's baby...well if Rose wanted to keep it then we could raise it together. I had always loved kids, and I know that Rose does to. We could be a family, maybe even adopt another kid so we could start off on a better note than this time.

But the only problem with that was that I had to find her first...well no not the only problem. There was still the massive Strigoi attack that I was sure was about to happen but couldn't tell Court about because of the damn spy. And there was Rose being a Strigoi again. And what her baby would turn out to be...

But right now finding Rose again was my first priority. Why had she run from me? She knew I loved her no matter what. Did she think that I would be mad that she was pregnant? It wasn't her fault, I could never blame her for that. All I wanted was to have her back in my arms again and to never let her go.

I was coming up to the park that Rose and I would go running through and sometimes stop so that she could play on the swings, and I slowed down so that I could replay the memory...when I think I started hallucinating.

Because the sight in front of me was too good to be true. There was no way that my Roza was right there in front of me, swinging on the swings just like she used to do when we came here together.

She was getting faster and a beautiful smile started spreading across her lips and I stepped forward in hopes that she would let out one of her joy filled laughs that warmed my insides when I was having dark days.

But it was one step too many, because Rose notices me standing there and immediately stopped and...I could have sworn got ready to reach for her stake.

"Roza," I said quietly as I slowly moved closer, not wanting to scare her and make her run away again. I had already lived without her for too long as it is.

"Dimitri," Rose said her voice cracking with emotion and she took a step back in shock- as if readying herself to run!

"No! Please Roza...don't run from me," I said, desperation filling my voice but I didn't care. I couldn't lose her, not again. "I don't know why you're scared but you don't have to be. Not from me. I love you, you're all that matters to me. All I want is for us to be together again," I said as I took a small step towards her. She was looking at me with big eyes but she hadn't moved away from me yet.

Another thought occurred to me and I went with my instinct. "And I don't want to hurt the baby either. I...I don't know what happened there...but it doesn't matter, all that matters is that I love you, and I need you back in my life again Roza. Please," I said the last word in a broken whisper as I took another step toward her and opened my arms to show her that I wasn't armed... In case such a ludicrous thought would ever enter her mind.

But, and you won't hear me complaining, she apparently took to mean something else, and in what was probably only five seconds but felt like an eternity, my Roza ran straight into my waiting arms.

"Roza," I breathed as I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight. She was crying and I think I was too, but none of that mattered right now. Nothing else in the entire universe mattered but this moment.

"Dimitri," Rose gasped out, almost incapable of speech. I just held her tighter and started muttering sweet nothings to her in Russian as she cried.

"О Roza моя любовь, я тосковал без Вас так, я мечтал из этого момента когда-либо волнения, Вы были взяты из меня. Я очень люблю тебя и я удостоверюсь, что ничто в этом мире не будет когда-либо отделять нас снова."

_Translation: Oh Roza my love I've missed you so much, I've dreamed of this moment ever snits you were taken from me. I love you so much and I will make sure that nothing in this world will ever separate us again._

We stood there for I don't know how long, just holding each other. I breathed in deep remembering her scent, slightly weaker without her stealing my shampoo and conditioner, but no less lovely.

An eternity later, I pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes. Eyes that were rimmed with red but still managed to look lovely to me. I know that we needed to talk, about so many thing, but I could think of something else far more important to be doing with our lips right now.

I was planning to be gentle, but when I leaned down to brush my lips softly against hers, I lost all control. I crushed my lips onto hers and slid one of my hands up into her hair so she couldn't escape, as if she wanted to. Her mouth opened against mine as she kissed me back with just as much passion and I felt her nails digging into my back and neck. It just speared me on and I pulled her closer with my other hand around her waist and started fighting her tongue for dominance. She moaned softly into the kiss and it only made me kiss her harder. I let my hands rome her body that I had missed so much and I felt something lower wake up.

I groaned and as much as I wanted this to go further we were in the middle of a park at night where there could possibly be other Strigoi. So reluctantly, I slowed this kiss until it was a deep slow emotional one that came to a soft end.

"Roza," I said gasping for breath after that heated kiss, unable to stop stroking her hair as I spoke. "Oh Roza I'm so glad you're safe. But why did you run from me? You know that I would never hurt you," I asked slightly hurt but mostly relieved that she was here with me again.

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have done that," she said still crying and looking me deep in the eyes like she was trying to make me feel how sorry she was. "I saw you and I wanted nothing more than to run into your arms just like now, I wanted to go with you, I really did. But my hormones were going nuts and then I saw your face when you realized that I was a Strigoi again and that it was only a matter of time before you realized what else was different with me and...and I...I just got so confused," she said and started crying again. I pulled her closer to me and waited until she calmed down enough to speak again.

"Shhh shhh Roza it's ok, it's ok." I desperately wanted to know how she was a Strigoi again and how she had gotten pregnant as one. But that could wait until she was ready.

I waited until her breathing calmed down and she pulled back slightly to ask what I needed to know.

"Roza," I said keeping my voice gentle. I had no idea what the last three months had been like for her and I had no intention of opening old wounds or hurting her in any other way if I could help it.

"Im sorry if you don't want to talk about this, but how are you Strigoi again?" I asked the second biggest question first to build up to it.

But surprisingly a cheeky smile that I knew, loved and slightly feared spread across her face.

"I'm not," she said with laughter in her voice when she saw the baffled look on my face.

"But...how...what?" I stuttered. She was obviously a Strigoi, everything fit! Her skin, her eyes her fangs...fangs that I didn't feel when I kissed her just now.

She did laugh then, her joy filled laugh that always meant that she had won whatever argument or play fight that she had been having at the time. Or a prank that she had just pulled off on Christian worked.

She reached up to her eyes and took out...contact lenses? She looked up at me again, and even in the bad light from the street lantern, I could tell that her eyes had gone from off red to beautiful brown again.

I was speechless, how...

But she wasn't don't yet, she then wiped her hand on a park bench and got the left over water from the rain earlier and rubbed it on her arm. Immediately the sick too pale skin of a Strigoi rubbed off and her lovely dark skin shined through. She then reached up and took off her black wig and her levely brown locks came tumbling down her shoulders...but no further. Her hair had really been cut.

"I'm sorry," Rose said as she tousled her hair. "But I had to cut it to hide who I was. There was a Strigoi that Tasha kept around and beat because she looked like me. So when I escaped I killed her and pretended to be her until I could get away."

I reached out and played with a lock of her shorter hair. I was a little upset, and would definitely be staking Tasha for this, but I had Rose back now, and that was all that mattered.

"It's doesn't matter Roza, I've got you back safe and well. Your hair will always grow, and I would be happy even if you were bald," I told her truthfully

She let out a big laugh and smiled up at me. "Let's just be glad that it never came to that."

We stood there smiling at each other for a while, until my other question came bubbling to the surface.

"So if you're not a Strigoi then...I...I guess that you got...p...pregnant in the... conventional way," I said nervously. I didn't want to bring back nightmares, but I had to know so I knew if I needed to kill anyone or Rose had already taken care of it. I hoped she hadn't. I wouldn't deny her the closer of the kill if it helped her heal. But I would take great pleasure is killing him myself.

Rose took a beep breath, as if steadying herself. "Yes. I did." Silence. I was waiting for a reaction, ready for her anger or her tears. But what I wasn't ready for was for her to look me in the eyes and say-

"It's yours."

"I...what?" I asked sure that I had misheard.

"I said that this baby is yours," Rose said with a bit of a smile this time.

"Mine? ..B..but..now?" I asked almost shocked beyond belief, and words.

Rose just shrugged her shoulders, and then gave me her "man eater" smile

"Well I'm sure that you know very well all the ways _how_," she said doing little finger quotes.

"I didn't mean how as in _how_, I meant how is that possible? We're both Dhampirs," I said trying to get my head around this...and trying to contain my excitement until I knew for sure that this was real, that this was happening.

"Well my best guess is that we've both been through a lot of stuff over the years, what with me being shadow kissed, then you being a Strigoi, then me dying and not being shadow kissed, and then me being a Strigoi...what I'm saying is that with all that weirdness added up don't you think that it could just about equal a miracle, a miracle like this?" Rose said a glowing smile spreading across her face as she talked about the baby, _our_ baby.

OUR BABY! I couldn't stop the stupidly big grin from spreading across my face and pulling Rose in for a tight, but still soft, hug and picking her up bride style and spinning her around. Laughing stupidly the entire time.

"We're going to have a baby,!" I cried out putting Rose back down and kissing her deeply, just to show her again that I loved her.

"Yes we are," she said laughing along with me. I reached out and stroked Rozas hair again, I was so happy right now I didn't think that I could ever stop smiling.

"I love you Dimitri," Rose said with a grin, like she had missed saying the words.

"And I love you my моя красивая мать моего ребенка

_Translation_: _beautiful mother of my child. _

We were silent for a while, until Rose shivered slightly and I realized that it was getting cold. Getting instantly more protective of her, I took my duster off and draped it around her shoulders.

"Come on my love, let's go home." I said with a smile and started leading her home to Court...when she said the words that shattered all of my dreams.

"I can't go back to Court with you."

I spun around with a panicked look. "What?" I asked shocked beyond belief. I was this close to getting everything that I had been searching for and more and she just took it all away with 8 words.

"I said I can't go back to Court with you. Tasha is up to something, she had this mastermind plan to take over to world. She hasn't told anyone but tomorrow night all of the Strigoi are meeting and Tasha is giving out assignments. She will notice if I don't show up and then she might think that her plan had been compromised and launch it right away instead of waiting. If I'm there then I can tell you and Court will be ready for them."

"My team and I can go and spy on them and get all of Court ready. I'm not putting you or our baby in anymore danger," I said with steel in my voice. I had just gotten her, and our baby, back. I wasn't losing them again.

"It's too risky, if she thinks that Court is on to her then she will pull back and attack later at an unknown time when we're not ready. And use the time in between to build a bigger army. It has to be me."

"No Roza! I can't let you do this!" I didn't know if I was ordering or begging, but I would get down on my knees if it would help me convince her to come back with me tonight.

"You have to. If I go back then the spy will tell Tasha and all hell will break lose."

"Do you know who the spy is?" I asked excitedly. If we got whoever it was then we could really put an end to Tasha being a problem. But Rose was shaking her head and I felt my heart plummet.

"No idea which is why I can't just suddenly show up in Court after the raid to the base."

"I could just hide you in my room," I said almost growling. I saw lust in her eyes and knew that she wanted very much to take me up on that offer. But stubborn as ever, she refused.

"Really tempted Comrade, but not this time. I'll go back undercover like before and find out everything, then I'll meet you back here the day after tomorrow and tell you everything, then we go from there."

I didn't like it, and I was just about to put my food down and use telling Lissa against her... when I sensed, more than heard, the other presence coming up behind us.

"Well well well, look what we have here. Anne you sure are keeping interesting company lately...or should I even call you that?" the female Strigoi asked, seeming to be talking to Roza.

"Get lost Trina, this ones mine," Rose said in her Strigoi voice. But I knew that that would only by us some time and got ready to pull my stake.

"Oh I think not, especially when Tasha he-" I slid my stake into her heart and that would be the last word that she ever spoke.

"Good job Comrade. We had better get out of here, there could be more lurking around," Rose said looking out into the dark in case Trina had a friend with her.

I rushed back to Roza's side. "I'm not leaving you," I said holding her face in between my hands, the idea of leaving her now was agonizing. And I also wasn't finished convincing her not to go back. I would go undercover myself before I let her leave my side again.

Suddenly Rose flashed me her "man eater" smile. "Who said you had to? I'm staying in an empty human house with a very comfy bed that I don't need to get out of until tomorrow night..."

"Roza," I growled and kissed her passionately. Pulling back after a few minutes to catch my breath I whispered, "Lead the way."

Rose took my hand and we spent the rest of the night showing each other exactly how much we missed the other.

**Well there you go, the reunion that I promised. How did you like it? **

**I threatened the talking Llama and told him that if he tried anything to mess this up for Rose and Dimitri that I wouldn't let him be in my story anymore. Yeah, that's right! IM in control of the talking llama...well most of the time lol**

**So...will Rose go back to Tasha and the swarm? Or will Dimitri...convince her to stay with him? I know he could sure convince me (wiggiles eye brows) **

**What is Tashas plan?**

**And will the llama try and seek revenge on me for banning him from this chapter? Well find out next time!**

**. **


	24. Chapter 24

**Hay guys and dolls! Sorry for the delay, but before you get mad at me can I just say GO QLD! RECORED BREAKING ORIGAN ALL AROUND!**

**And I'm done. **

Destravis

Ahh you TWATWAFFLE !at least you ended on a good note ...sorta. If you don't update soon i will take my four chiwawas make the scrath you . Make bob the talking lama pee on your face . Make you sit in a locked room with my cousin on a sugar high and make you listen to happy by pharrel over and over again singe your hair and skin hold a gun to your head while you type while also breaking your spine you will die a slow and agonizing death begging me to end it all ...but will spare you to update again once this story is finished i will end you happy fucking day ...ohh and before i forget where do you live i promise i won't stalk you ...mabey bdvshsjshs v vheue ahh bad lama he was typing evil asian demon lama

**Ok let me just say that that was one of the weirdest reviews that I have evan received! But thanks:)**

DauntlessTrin

It's about time you took over the Llama! After all it has put us through! The reunion, and I'm quite scared for my health for saying this, was wonderful. Rose had better not go back to Tasha. She needs to stay with Dimitri and continue "catching up" while Sam tells Tasha that Anne was killed. I really like that idea. Don't feel to naive, Dimitri could convince me too. Once again... I don't know Tasha's plan. I most definetly DON'T look like her, so how would I know? The llama may attack us in the next chapter, depending on how tight of a hold you have on him.  
Toodles

**Well I'm glad that you don't look like her because that would mean that you looked like a Strigoi...hay, wait a minuet! Are you just telling me that you don't look like her so that I won't think that you are her?! Are you using FF to spy on me!? I'll never tell you anything you hear me?! NEVER!**

Alex

I feel like something is missing  
Did I miss something?  
i don't know maybe- OH! I got it  
Where is the llama? Bob i think?  
Oh well the llama will turn up eventually  
In TPOV were she said she has going for Dimitri then got body-slammed i was like " That is the llama! Whooo Hooooo the llama saved the day" But it turned out to be nick which was my second guess  
Other than that:  
Rose is being suicidal. Nothing new there  
Dimitri is worried but is controlled by the woman in the relationship. Also nothing new

**Lol glad that you approve, yeah I had a heart to heart with the llama and he's not going to bomb my story anymore-**

**Llama: Yes I am!**

**Me: Hay! We had a deal!**

**Llama: I had my fingers crossed!**

**Me: you don't have any fingers!**

**Llama: Exactly!**

**Me: Aaah whatever, do you want to do the Disclaimer or me?**

**Llama: Oh oh me! Disclaimer, RoseDimitriLoveJunky dose not own VA or me, because no one can control this much talking llama goodness!**

**Me: Modest isn't he/she what are you anyway? **

**Llama: you will never know! But for those of you who like us talking Llama YouTube "Llama's in hats" it's my family I swear**

**Me: you shouldn't swear!**

**Llama: Oh you know what I mean, now on with the chapter!**

**Me: All right all right man, celebrity's**

_"Good job Comrade. We had better get out of here, there could be more lurking around," Rose said looking out into the dark in case Trina had a friend with her. _

_I rushed back to Roza's side. "I'm not leaving you," I said holding her face in between my hands, the idea of leaving her now was agonizing. And I also wasn't finished convincing her not to go back. I would go undercover myself before I let her leave my side again. _

_Suddenly Rose flashed me her "man eater" smile. "Who said you had to? I'm staying in an empty human house with a very comfy bed that I don't need to get out of until tomorrow night..."_

_"Roza," I growled and kissed her passionately. Pulling back after a few minutes to catch my breath I whispered, "Lead the way." _

_Rose took my hand and we spent the rest of the night showing each other exactly how much we missed the other. _

RPOV

I sighed contently as I lay back in bed, skin to skin with Dimitri as he held me close and gently rubbed my stomach. I had a surely stupid grin on my face but I didn't care, this was the first time in literally months that I had been able to completely let my guard down and relax and not fear for my or my baby's life. Not to mention have sex with my _fiancé!_ who was currently running his slow and gentle hands all over my body. Re-membering all of my body's old curves and discovering all the new ones that my pregnancy had given me.

I had expected him to be most happy about my bigger breasts, and he had certainly given them the proper attention earlier when we were reconnecting...but he's hands seemed to be mostly busy with my swollen stomach.

He was rubbing gentle circles over it and whispering Russian to our baby with an awed look in his eyes.

I had led him back here in a rush, desperate to kiss him and feel him close to me again. The pregnancy hormones really hade been giving me some mad cravings lately, ones that only Dimitri could satisfy if you get my meaning, so I had been pretty desperate to get some alone time with him, but I had sadly almost scared Sam half to death when Dimitri and I had first came threw the door...

_Flashback_

_Dimitri and I were furiously making out, his hands running up and down my body knowing every hidden pleasure point that I had and seeming determined to hit them all before we even managed to get any of our clothes off. _

_We had had a somewhat of an awkward walk here that had taken twice as long as it should have because of our constant stops to make out. Dimitri had me pinned up against a brick wall and was hitching one of my legs up and around his waist, pushing me harder against his lower half and I could feel through his clothing how much he wanted us to be closer. I wanted that more than anything as well, so half hating myself, I pulled away from the wall and him and half walked, half jogged to the empty house that Sam and I were staying in. _

_Dimitri came up behind me and took my hand as we hurriedly walked down the empty street, seeming to know why I had pulled away without saying anything and more determined than ever to get me indoors and alone. I guess that I wasn't the only one that had been having cravings. _

_Still tangled up in each other we managed to get the front door open and, arms flailing, turn the light on. Because even with our Dhampir night vision, we were_ _both to busy eating each others face off to try and see what we were doing..._

_When suddenly there was a shocked gasp! _

_I turned around thinking 'oh crap we're in the wrong house...'_

_When I saw a white faced Sam looking at me and Dimitri with a shocked look on his face and his silly apron around his waist again. I guess he was fixing me a midnight snack._

_"AAAA wel...I..I uaa guess that you made up with Dimitri," Sam said not knowing what to do or say. _

_"Yes, I did," I said blushing a bit. Poor Sam looked so flustered it was almost funny. _

_"Who's this?" Dimitri said in a hard voice and getting into a protective stance as he moved in front of me. _

_"That's Sam, you remember, back at the base I told you we were friends. Sam took me here and looked after me after you invaded," I said stepping beside Dimitri and stopping his hand from getting any closer to his stake. _

_"And why would he do that? He's a Strigoi," Dimitri said still keeping an eye on Sam but no longer looking like he was going to attack. _

_"Sam's...a special cace, but he's on our side don't worry," I said not wanting to go into detail about Sam being different. All I wanted right now was to get naked and physical with my man. _

_"Sam could you leave Dimitri and I alone for a bit? We still have a lot to talk about," I said rubbing my stomach and hoping that he would take the hint. _

_"Yeah, sure no problem," Sam said looking relieved that he had an excuse to leave. I guess we really did give him a scare earlier. "There's lots of food here so just help yourself," he said heeding for the back door. "Oh and the people that live here are on holidays so no one will walk in on you." The door shut and suddenly we were alone. _

_"What was all that about?" Dimitri asked raising one eyebrow, I actually missed being able to complain about that. _

_I cupped his face in between my hands and pulled him down to my eye level and whispered, "I'll explain later." And smashed his lips against my own. Not needing any further encouragement, Dimitri kissed me back with just as much passion as I grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him upstairs and into the bedroom. _

_End flashback_

We had spent the next few hours making love, sometimes slow and sensual, other times fast and passionate, and every time perfect. I had missed being in Dimitri's arms so much the last few months that I was almost afraid that right now was just a wonderful dream and that I would wake up in this bed alone and only have Sam to care for me.

But I guess that after all of the rotten luck that I'd had over the last few months, all of my good luck must have been bottled up and splashed on this moment, because everything was perfect. I had the love of my life back, I had finally told him about our baby, and I wasn't in danger anymore...well mostly. We still needed to talk about whether I was going back to spy on Tasha or not, we still needed to talk about a lot of things actually, but I didn't want to bring that up just yet. This was an utterly perfect moment and I didn't want to cut it short.

"I can't believe that I'm going to become a father, that we're going the have a baby," Dimitri muttered switching to English so I could participate in the conversation.

"It took me a while too, I couldn't decide it was a nightmare or a dream come true," I said as I stroked Dimitri's hair.

He looked up at me with slight concern on his face. "Which would prefer?" He asked in a quiet voice.

But I could tell what he was really asking. _Do you not want this baby? _

I smiled as the silliness of that. Of course I wanted this baby, it was our miracle baby, and I had literally fought an angry mob of Strigoi to keep it.

"A dream come true of course," I said stroking his cheek and laughed a little when I felt his jaw relax and the light shining out of his eyes. "I've always wished that we could have a baby together, a little Dimitri running around would be a blessing," I said still with a smile, but then a frown broke threw to ruin our perfect moment.

"I just wish that the first few months of our child's life didn't have to happen in a nightmare," I whispered remembering all the torture sessions that I had had to go through even before I knew that I had been carrying this little life inside of me.

Dimitri released his hold on my stomach and moved up so he was holding me tightly against his chest.

"Do you want to talk about it Roza?" he asked quietly, making sure that I was taken care of, that no matter what, I knew that I was his top priority.

I gave him a small smile. "Not really." The last thing that I needed right now was to relive what Tasha did to me. I needed to keep a clear head if I was going to figure out our next move. The sun was rising now and all too soon it would be night again, and our time was up.

I looked up as the sun came through the window and turned Dimitri's chocolate brown hair a wonderful rich golden color. I reached up and played with a few strands with a content smile on my face, just happy to have this moment with him as he watched me intently, like he was afraid that I was going to disappear at any moment.

But unfortunately, the movement of my arm made the light catch the remaining scars that Tasha gave me in one of the torture session. I heard Dimitri's shocked gasp and looked down at where his eyes were locked. Earlier he had been so caught up in the fact that I was actually here with him again, safe and alive, that he hadn't taken much notice of the state my body was in...well that not true, he had taken LOTS of interest in my body, but not in a 'checking for damaged' kind of way. No, he had been far too caught up in making love to me and showing me how much he missed me for that.

And once the edge of his hunger and need had been smoothed out, he had been very busy rubbing and talking to my stomach (which lucky had not sustained much damaged) to notice the rest of me.

Most of my bruises had faded, but I would always have a few scars left over after Tasha used my body for a scratching post. Some would heal, but not all.

Dimitri froze beside me when he finally noticed. And I saw the look of pain and anger cross his face. Man I wouldn't even want to be _related_ to Tasha at this point, for fear that Dimitri would hurt me too. Not only did she all but cut my hair, she scared me and give Dimitri a permanent reminder of what she did to me.

I watched Dimitri battle between anger and guilt before guilt won out and he started begging for forgiveness.

"Roza," he choked out as he took stock of the rest of my body. "Oh Roza I'm so sorry!" he whispered into my hair. "I'm so sorry that I couldn't stop that from happening, that I couldn't save you sooner. I tried so hard to find you. I'm sorry that I wasn't good enough," Dimitri finished in a broken whisper as he pulled me even tighter.

What? He thought that he wasn't good enough?! I pulled away enough to look into his eyes and gave him my best death glare.

"Dimitri Belikov, don't you DARE say that you weren't good enough! You went through hell to find me."

"But you-"

I cut him off before he could finish the sentence. "And yes I know that I have no idea what you went through to find me." We hadn't gotten around to talking about that yet, our lips had been busy with other more important things. "But that's besides the point! I know you well enough to know that you were searching for me and working on ways to find me every waking moment since I was taken, I know that you didn't eat or sleep as much as you should have, I know that you struggled to keep control, I even know that you had bad dreams since I wasnt there to keep them at bay! So don't you dare put yourself down and think that you somehow failed me bacause you didn't."

I finished in a gentler tone and Dimitri was just looking at me with an almost amazed look in his eyes. I don't know why, he knows me just as well as I know him and could probably guess what I would be thinking too.

Suddenly Dimitri pulled me into a deep kiss that said more than words ever could. "You're truly amazing, you know that?" he muttered after we broke apart for air. "Even after months of torture and imprisonment and having to hide the fact that you're pregnant on top of it all, you somehow still manage to put my feelings first," he said still looking at me like I was the ninth wonder of the world.

"How did I manage to end up with someone as perfect as you," he whispered, almost to himself.

I decided to lighten up to conversation with a joke. "Well I believe that you hunted me down in the middle of the night, tripped me and almost smashed my face into the ground," I said with a big smile. I succeeded in lightening the situation because Dimitri let out a deep belly laugh.

"Yeah, there was that wasn't there," Dimitri said leaning in for another kiss...when suddenly it happened.

I gasped and sat up clutching my stomach, waiting to see it if happened again.

"What's wrong? Roza? Is the baby all right?" Dimitri asked already slipping in to worried father mode.

I grabbed his hands and placed them on my stomach where I had felt it.

"Roza?" Dimitri said worry still in his voice.

"Just wait for it," I said in a whisper hoping that I hadn't imagined it. But- there it was again! I looked at Dimitri to see the same surprise and delight written on his face.

"The baby's kicking!" he said a smile on his face as tears of joy ran down mine. Our baby was moving, this was really happening!

"Oh I love you Roza," Dimitri said as he held me close after the baby had had enough of moving about. "I love you and I love our baby so much, I can't wait to hold him or her in my arms for the first time."

"What do you want it to be? A boy or girl?" I asked as I put a hand on top of his that was resting on our baby.

"I wouldn't mind a little Rose to chase after as she eats all of our food," Dimitri said with a dreamy look in his eyes.

"I'm still hoping for a boy. The more of you in the world, the better," I said with a smile, and then just for fun I added. "Also I don't think there would be enough food in all of Court to feed us if she takes after me," I said with a laugh as Dimitri laughed and held me tighter.

But suddenly the mood got darker and Dimitri pulled back with a harder look in his eyes.

"I can't let you go back there Roza, not now," he said, rubbing my stomach. "Not with our baby in danger, it's just too big a risk. We're lucky to even _have_ a baby! I can't just let you run into the middle of a Strigoi army!" I could tell that he wasn't going to budge on this, and I could understand. I really did agree with him, but that doesn't change the facts. Tasha will know that I'm gone and will know something's up.

"You know why I have to go," I said quietly.

"No I don't! Sam's on our side so get him to go to the meeting! Get him to take the risk, hell I'd do it before I let you go back there," Dimitri said getting almost angry. "Tasha wants you dead, and if she found out about our baby then she would hold you both hostage. And we both know that I'd do anything that she asked me to to save you. Anything Rose. I'd even agree to take your place and be her blood whore for the rest of my life if it meant that you and the baby were safe," he said in a determined voice, not shouting but not quiet either.

Dimitri's earlier anger at the scars on my body was back and was now fueling his need to protect me. I really loved how much he cared, but what else was there for me to do? Tasha would know that I wasn't there.

Dimitri took a deep breath and lowered his voice to make it desperate and caring as he cupped my face in between his hands. He knew that trying to force me wouldn't work, and I knew that he was desperate enough to beg me if it meant that I wouldn't walk back out into danger.

"Please Roza, I only just got you back, and I'm not doubting your skills at all. I know that if it were just you going in there that you would be able to handle yourself just fine. But please, think of our baby," he said putting a hand on my stomach. "It's already been through so much, you haven't even been able to go in for a check up yet! We don't even know if it's healthy or not! I know that you're used to putting others before yourself, and how you've always live by _they come first_ but this is one time that you need to put yourself first. To put our baby first."

He was looking so deep in to my eyes that I could see my own reflection. And I could also see how desperate he was for me to go back with him so that I could be safe again. Nothing that I said at this point was going to change his mind. And to be honest, I didn't really want to. He was right, I had put my life on the line so many times in my life that it was almost like second nature to me now. But this time was different. This time it was not just my life that I'd be putting on the line.

I needed to start putting my child's life first, and that meant that I couldn't go back to Tasha's meeting. Sam was right, I could just pretend that Anne had been killed and Sam could back up that story. I needed to go home and get my baby to a doctor to make sure that it wasn't hurt by what Tasha did to us.

I looked back into Dimitri's eyes and saw him silently begging me to come back with him. And I just didn't have the strength to say no again.

"All right. I'll come back-" Whatever else I was going to say was cut off as Dimitri crushed his lips onto mine and pulled me in for a bone cherishing hug, while still being gentle to my stomach.

"Thank you Roza," he whispered with so much emotion that I felt my eyes start to tear up again.

"But I'm not just walking away from this," I said, not willing to give up now. I had gone through so much with being undercover and trying to find out Tasha's plans, there was no way that I was just going to sit out now that D day was finally happening...well we think it is anyway. We won't have any real idea until we know what's going to happen at that meeting. "I'm going to be right there with the rest of the people that have been following Tasha's movements. I know how she thinks and what she wants most, and if I can't actually be there to help fight then I can help in other ways," I said not backing down. Giving up just wasn't my style but when push came to shove, my baby's life was more important than my pride.

"You can do whatever you want, just as long as you stay safely in Court and by my side at all times," Dimitri said still holding me tight. I think he was so relived that I was going back with him that he would have agreed to shave his head at this point.

"But what are we going to do about the spy?" I asked after a few minutes of silence and cuddling.

"I'm not sure. We still don't know who it is and I've cut off all contact with Court while I was looking for you so that they couldn't somehow leak anything to Tasha. For all I know, they've already found out who it is," he said practically, like this was a mission debriefing. But then his voice turned tender and he cupped my face and looked deep into my eyes.

"But now that you're back, I don't care anymore. I'll take you back to Court and hide you away until this is all over and no one else will be able to take you away from me. Only our most trusted friends and Court's best doctors will know about you," Dimitri said with a smile still on his lips and his arms still firmly rested around me. At this point, I was seriously wondering it he was ever going to let me go again, but it didn't seem important enough to voice right now.

"So, tell me everything that I've missed while I was gone," I said, eager to know what Dimitri had been up to. I hated even missing out on one day of his life, and I had been forced to miss out on months!

He just chuckled and still refused to let go of me. "Not much, mostly just wondering from town to town searching for you."

"What was up with the commando squadron that attacked the base with you? Where did you dig them up?" I asked remembering some of them as I ran for it back at the base.

A playful smile came across Dimitri's lips. "Well I believe that you have your father to thank for that."

"What!?"

"Your father hired them to find me and help me search for you," Dimitri said seeming amused by my reaction. "Don't tell me that you're surprised that the great _Zmey_ wasn't above breaking the law and hiring mercenaries to help find his only daughter."

"Well no, not really. But I guess I never gave it much thought." In the grand scheme of weird things that has happened to me over the years, the latest of which is me being pregnant, Abe hiring a deadly team of mercenaries to hunt Tasha down and get me back really wasn't all that hard to believe actually.

"Which reminds me," Dimitri said finally letting me go and getting up to go through the pockets of his pants. He pulled something out and came back to the bed and kneeled in front of me. He looked me in the eyes and smiled as he showed me what was in his hands.

I gasped. My _Nazar_ and my engagement ring! I had left them at Court before I was taken! I should have known that Dimitri would keep them close by. I smiled at him and pulled my hair out of the way and let him clip the chain around my neck. It felt cold against my skin but I knew that it would soon warm up. Next Dimitri took my left hand and kissed my ring finger before sliding my engagement ring back into it's rightful place. I moved my finger around and watched as the diamond captured little bits of sunlight and made my ring shine.

"I missed seeing it on your finger," Dimitri said into the quiet. "It didn't feel right you not having it with you."

I smiled up at him and moved so that I was sitting in his lap. "Well it's never going to leave my sight again Comrade, you can count on that," I said and sealed the promise with a kiss.

"Tell me more, tell me everything that I missed," I said as I shifted closer.

"Nuh uh, it's your turn. Tell me everything," Dimitri said with a slightly hunted look in his eyes. I wasn't about to tell him about all of the torture that I went through, so instead I took the one funny thing that I could out of this whole mess and did what I do best, made a joke out of a serious situation.

"Well how about I tell you how chocolate saved my life."

**Ok, now any of you see were the talking llama went?! I haven't seen him/her...meh let's make it a him, snits the Disclamer!**

**Anyway I hope that you liked what I did with this chapter. I was originally going to make Rose go back to spy on Tasha, but then I got mad at her for putting her baby's life in danger and realised that it wasn't going to work. **

**But don't worry! There's still lots more to come! **

**What is Tashas plan? **

**Who is the spy?**

**And how come chocolate saved Roses life but it only gives me cavities!? **

**Review and I'll give you the next chapter!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Ok ok I stuffed up! But a lot has happened to me lately and you don't need all the details. All's you need to do is read and review. **

DauntlessTrin

OH NO! YOU FIGURED ME OUT! I AM THE SPY! How dare you ... I can't believe you... Why did you... Ugh. Please don't tell anyone, I have a family! Also, mY VIRGIN EYES! DIMITRI WAS GETTING ALL SMEXY! Why do you keep asking me what Tasha's plan is? Just because I look like her doesn't mean I am her! *clears throut loudly* I thought we discussed this many times already. I am obviously the spy. How slow are you people? XD Chocolate can save everyone's life, but I have never had a cavity so I don't know about you. I actually have a dentist appointment tommorow, so we'll see if all that delectable goodness has ruined my mouth. Ugh, you always update so early in the morning. It is literally 1:05 in the morning. Your lucky I love you.  
Cha Cha

P.S. I just realized you live in Australia, where one of my favorite Youtubers lives. Do you watch Jordan Sweeto? You should. He is amazeballs omg have you met him omg can I move to Australia omg fangirl attack *pterodactyl screetch*

Sorry I donk know him:( but your review was the best one that I received! So congrats:)

**Anyway Disclaimer and stuff**

_Nuh uh, it's your turn. Tell me everything," Dimitri said with a slightly hunted look in his eyes. I wasn't about to tell him about all of the torture that I went through, so instead I took the one funny thing that I could out of this whole mess and did what I do best, made a joke out of a serious situation. _

_"Well how about I tell you how chocolate saved my life." _

DPOV

I had a permanent smile on my face as I cooked up a big breakfast after the sun was higher up on the horizon. Rose and I had spent the last few hours in each others arms, filling each other in on what we had missed, just talking and sometimes stopping to kiss and just enjoy being together.

I told her all about what had happened before I left Court, how the spy had helped Tasha escape and find the old tunnels underneath Court. Then Rose had told me why Adrian hadn't been able to dream walk with her, and then all about Sam. I had to give a chuckle at how chocolate was the main motivator for Sam wanting to get changed back into a human. Who would have thought that chocolate really would save Roza's life one day?

Then how I had left to find her on my own and tracked her down with the help of the men her father had hired (who I had messaged and told that I wouldn't be back last night so they didn't send out a search party). I didn't give details, I still wasn't sure if I should keep Rose hidden from everyone or not. Last night it had seemed like a great idea just to let our friends and family and doctors know about her, but word would get around somehow and the spy would report it back to Tasha and the whole thing would start again. Except this time, Tasha wouldn't stop at kidnapping Rose. She would kill anyone that got in the way and do who knows what to Rose to make me co operate.

But the fact still remained that Rose needed to go and get our baby looked at to make sure that it hadn't been hurt when she was undergoing the torture, and the best place for that was Court. No human doctor would be able to give Rose and our baby the help that they needed. So spy or not, Roza was coming back to Court with me, it was the only way.

"Mmmm that smells good enough to eat Comrade," Roza said as she slipped her arms around my waist from behind to look over, well around, my shoulder at the food that I was cooking. I had long since gotten used to cooking up big portion for the both of us, what with my size and Roza's appetite, there was always a need. But I had almost doubled the amount this time. I knew for a fact that Roza didn't get the proper amount of food with the right amount of nutrition that she and the baby needed when she was with Tasha, and our growing child needed all that it could get if it was going to take after it's mother in appetite.

"It taste good too, or so I've been told," I said as I turned around in her arms to hold her properly. I was still shirtless from our... activities earlier and hadn't bothered to put on anything other than a pair of boxers. And the feeling of Roza's bare hands on my chest was more than welcome.

Roza in turn was just wearing my discarded shirt. Now I could very well just be biased, but seeing her in my clothes and seeing the slight bump of her stomach had to be the most beautiful sight in the world. Not to mention she looked just as cute and sexy as always. It was the reason why all of her night clothes always 'mysteriously' got "lost in the wash" whenever she bothered to buy a new set.

I was unashamedly looking her up and down and wondering if I had time to take her here on the kitchen counter before the food was ready...

But Roza, apparently having read my thoughts, just laughed and said,"Later, I want food first."

I laughed and gave her a slow and deep kiss instead, promising to make good on her offer after we had eaten.

"Mmmm it has been WAY to long since I had a good home cooked meal. I mean I had Sam and for a guy who doesn't eat food anymore he's a pretty good cook. But nothing compares to your homemade black bread," (**A/N: You know that you're addicted to VA when you're cooking banana bread and you call it black bread), **Rose said finishing off her second loaf. I had searched high and low and had managed to improvise enough ingredients to make a few loaves of black bread. After everything that Roza had been through, I figured that she deserved a treat.

"I'll make as much of it as you want when we get back home," I said with a content smile as I watched her finish off the last bite.

"Careful what you promise Comrade, because even you would be surprised with the amount of food that I could eat now that, I too, have a bun in the oven," she said, laughing at her pun as she rubbed her stomach.

I laughed along with her, but then got serious enough to let her know that it wasn't just talk. I fully intended to be there for her for every step of this pregnancy and after.

"I mean it. When we get back to Court, I'm going to ask for more time off to take care of you and I don't care if I have to pull a guilt trick with Lissa to get it. From now on, you and our baby are my top and only priority," I said looking into her eyes.

I didn't care if people looked down upon me for abandoning my station, or thought that I wasn't fulfilling my role as a Guardian. From now on, _they come firs_t, no longer applied to the Moroi that I had spent my life learning to serve and protect. The meaning of that manta changed the minute that Rose told me that she was pregnant and that the baby was mine. _They come first_ would now and forever only apply to my family.

Rose gave me a tender look that made my heart melt. I swear she was becoming more motherly already.

"I know we are Comrade, but you don't have to drop everything. I'm only about five months along, and I'll have a much better suport group at Court than just Sam, though he's going to make a very nice wife to someone when he gets resorted. And not to mention I won't be kept in a prison cell undergoing versus amounts of torture so that's always a plus," she said brightly.

How she could possibly joke and smile about that when it was so recent was beyond me. No one else in the entire world had such a bright or strong spirit as my Roza, and I couldn't wait to marry her and make her mine in every way.

"Yes well that aside, I've already missed too much of this pregnancy and far too much time with you as it is. And we both know that none of the higher ups, which just so happen to be most of our friends, will contest my decision. I'm staying home and spoiling you and there's nothing that you can so about it," I said with a straight face, but I knew that Rose could see the smile that I was trying to hide.

She let out a fake exasperated sigh, "If that's the price that I must pay for unlimited black bread then I guess I have no other choice." A smile was tugging at her lips and laughter was trying to bubble out of her. I knew that if I just pushed a little harder that she would erupt with laughter. So very deliberately, I put on my guardian mask and raised one eyebrow and said, "A high price to pay indeed," with a TOTALLY straight face, and that was all it took. Rose started doubling over with uncontrolled laughter and I couldn't help but go over to her and capture her lips with my own, drinking in the wild life and joy of her spirit.

"Didn't you say something about after breakfast...?" I muttered across her lips and felt her answering smile.

"I did indeed." And things continued on from there.

And hour later and we were in a car that I "borrowed" and headed back to Court. It was a good thing that I was such good friends with Lissa or I would surely get jail time for all the cars that I've stolen over the last few months.

Next to me I could tell that Rose was both nervous and excited. Excited at seeing all of her friends and letting them know that she's ok; nervous about telling them about the baby. I knew that she didn't give a damn about what the rest of Court would think of her just showing up out of the blue pregnant after being kidnapped by Strigoi. She had been the topic of gossip more than once back at St. Vlads and it didn't faze her. But we both knew that her friends would stand by her till the end and believe her when she told them that this baby was ours, so there really wasn't anything to worry about.

But still, Moroi loved to talk, and this would be hot gossip for months to come.

We both knew that the talk would be endless, first about her cheating on me, then about a Strigoi baby, and worst of all, if they want to do experiments on them to see how it was possible for two Dhampirs to conceive a child together. But the fact that Rose and Lissa were basically sisters should be enough to put all thoughts of turning them into a lab experiment to an end.

I reached a hand out to hold her hand that had closed into a fist and soothed her.

"It'll be fine, everyone will be excited to see you, and only our most trusted friends will know about your return so the gossip won't start for a long time. You will have time to settle in and prepare," I said doing my best to comfort her. All the gossip in Court wouldn't have bothered the old Rose, but after months of torture and torment on top of being pregnant, I was more than ready to baby her until she felt comfortable enough to be her old sarcastic and wild self.

Rose just shot me a side smile. "Relax Comrade I'm not scared, it's just...a lots happened since I left here that's all," she said shrugging my concerns off. But I could tell that she was still a little nervous.

We pulled up at the gates, and as luck would have it the Guardian that came to check if we had clearance to get through turned out the be Mikhail. His eyes brightened when he saw me, but they widened so much when he saw Rose that I thought that his eyes would fall out if his head.

"Rose! You're back-"

"Shhh Mikhail, were trying to keep this quite," I said in a hushed voice and he leaned closer to hear me. "We still don't know who the spy is and we don't want them leaking this to Tasha."

"Of course, I won't tell anyone I promise," he said with bright eyes as he looked at Rose again. "It's good to have you back, everyone's been so worried," he said with a genuine smile.

"It's good to be back," Rose said back looking equally as happy. Mikhail waved us in and we made our way into the car park without any further incident. Now came the fun part. Getting Rose to the palace unseen. Which would be double hard because all of the Guardians knew her. But luckily we didn't have to do this alone.

I waved Mikhail down and borrowed his mobile phone and made one call. Five minutes later and we had the back up that we needed.

"Little Dhampir!" called out Adrian excitedly as he rushed over to wrap Rose in a tight hug.

"Adrian," Rose said with a big smile, her voice coming out muffled from Adrian's hug.

"We were so worried about you! How are you? Are you hurt?" he asked pulling away enough to look her over. "How's the baby?" he asked in a panic and started looking just to the sides of Rose. He was reading her aura I realized.

"I'm not sure," Rose said in a worried voice as she put her hands in her stomach. "I haven't exactly been able to get checked out. Can you tell if anything is wrong?" Rose asked in a worried voice and I stiffened. Adrian certainly wasn't an expert, but he might be able to tell us if anything is seriously wrong.

Adrian was silent as he studied her aura for a bit before saying, "Well I can't say anything for certain, but I reckon that everything's looking just fine."

I wrapped my arms around Rose's waist as she sagged against me in relief. We still needed to get a doctor to make sure, but this was the first indication that we've had that our baby is ok.

"Thank you," I said in a broken voice as I held Rose tighter. I couldn't imagine what we would do if we lost this baby, we might never get another chance at having one so we needed to get this right.

"Not a problem. Now not that I'm not flattered, but I have a feeling that you didn't get me to come down here for my expert baby aura reading skills. So why do you want me here and why did I have to keep it secret from the others? I reckon that they would all be over the moon to hear that our little Rosie is back," he said with a grin and stepped back in time to avoid a half hearted punch from Rose for calling her Rosie.

"We want you to put a glamour over Rose so we can get her into the palace without anyone knowing that she's here. We don't want word to get back to Tasha through the spy so I want to keep Rose a secret for as long as possible."

Adrian snorted through a smile. "Well good luck with that! Rose isn't exactly one to sit and stay quietly in her room and paint her nails!"

_Don't I know it, _I thought with a smile. My Roza hated sitting out on the action, always wanting to be in the center of any fight. It really was a miracle that I had convinced her to come back with me at all. But then again, it was our miracle baby that had made the decision for her, so maybe it was a bit of both.

"Regardless, can you do it? Everyone is on the look out for Rose, and no one will be expecting to find her here. But she's just too recognizable."

"Yeah no problem there cradle robber, I think I can whip something up," Adrian said with his trade mark cocky smile and then closed his eyes and concentrated for a minute. Then he opened his eyes and a smug smile appeared.

"There you go, you are now just a nameless faceless Guardian of Court. I guarantee that no one who isn't family or a very close friend will give you two looks. You will just look plain and unrecognizable. Two things that I assure you that you are not," Adrian said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Good then lets get moving. I want Rose to be looked over by a doctor before sun down," I said as we started walking towards the place. It was the middle of the vampire night so there wasn't exactly a lot of people running around which is one of the reasons that we timed it like this. The other was obviously because I needed to tell the others about Tasha's meeting tonight/ tomorrow.

The guards at the doors were excited to see me, but when they saw the mask of sadness and defeat that I put on for show and that I didn't have Rose with me they dropped all attempts at small talk and questions and just let us all through.

That done, we made a bee line for Lissa's room. I desperately wanted Rose to get checked our first, but I knew how much Rose had been missing Lissa, and how much Lissa had been crying over Rose, so I figured that this should be our first stop. Not to mention once Lissa found out that Rose was pregnant she would undoubtably order the best Sonographer out of bed right now to preform the check up.

I told the Guardians that there was an emergency and that we needed to speak to the Queen at once. Knowing that if I was back that it much have something to do with Rose they let us in without any further queshons.

RPOV

All I wanted right now was to just run in and jump on Lissa in bed and hug her until breathing became optional, but with my glamour on, there was little chance that I would get away with that. So I settled for Lissa meeting us and seeing how long it took her to realize that I was actually me.

I didn't have to wait long. Once Lissa was told that Dimitri had arrived back at Court with urgent news about me, Lissa came bursting through the door in her nightgown wide eyed and looking frantically at Dimitri.

"What is it? Where's Rose? Did you find her? Is she ok?" she demanded all at once as Christian came running into the room after her.

"Yes I found her, and yes she's ok," Dimitri said with a smile.

"Well? Where is she?" Lissa asked.

Unable to help myself, I cleared my throat and gave Lissa my '_man eater_' smile when she turned to look at me. She squinted her eyes a bit, like she was looking at something blurry. But then I saw realization dawn on her face as she gasped,

"Rose!?"

And she let out a very Lissa like squeal of joy as she ran and attacked me with hugs and kisses. She was laughing and crying at the same time and I was laughing, and crying a little bit too, along with her. Damn hormones.

"Rose, oh Rose you're alright! I was so worried about you, about what Tasha was going to do to you! Oh but Dimitri brought you home just like- " suddenly she let go of me and turned her murderous eyes onto Dimitri.

"Don't you DARE run off on us like that again! Do you know how worried I was about you! I mean you're normally so calm and level headed and then suddenly you just drop everything and run off! You're not the only one that was worried about Rose and the baby-" then she stopped and she turned on me mid rant again and ran over to me looking scared and worried.

"The baby! Rose is the baby ok?!" Lissa asked looking my aura up and down. Huh, she figured that out pretty fast...

"Well I haven't had it looked at yet, but Adrian didn't see anything wrong so I hope that that means that we're in the clear," I said putting a hand on my stomach out of habit.

"Well that's a relief," Christian said, walking over to us with a genuine in smile on his face, before it turned into a cheeky smirk. "Because if anything was wrong than I wouldn't be allowed to give you hell anymore and our relationship would be forever changed."

"Oh can it fire torch," I said at the same time that Lissa said,

"Christian not now!"

Christian just held out his arms and said "Hey I'm just letting her know that her pathetic excuse for wit and sarcasm would be noticed. Not go missed, but noticed."

I just smiled sweetly at that and said, "I wouldn't be acting so cocky if I was you right now. Because you know that I can now beat you to a bloody pulp for the next four months and blame it all on the hormones and get away scot free," I said in a fake sweet voice and Christian's skin paled.

"I hate to interrupt this reunion, but I really think that Rose should see a doctor soon rather than later," Dimitri interjected putting an arm around me and holding me close, like he was still afraid that I was going to disappear. "She and the baby have both been through quite a bit over the last few months and the sooner that they get checked, out the better."

"Oh of course I'm so sorry Dimitri! I'll send for someone at once!" Lissa said and went to go and tell the Guardians to do her bidding.

Then as if he had been waiting for Lissa to leave to show how concerned he really was, Christian walked up closer to me looking relieved.

"I really am glad that you're back Rose, we were all out of our minds when you were taken, we were doing everything that we could think of to find you. And once we found out about the baby it just made everything that much worse-"

"Wait what? You knew I was pregnant? How?" Lissa and Adrian I knew could tell from my aura, but Christian? He was a Moroi flame thrower and that was it.

"That blood test that you took before the attack remember? You were feeling sick so Lissa gave it to you. I found it later and thought that Lissa was the pregnant one. But you should have seen all of our faces when she told us that you were the one to use it," Christian said with a chuckle.

I did remember that, it felt like years ago that I stood in Lissa's bathroom looking at that test. And the fact that it had come up pregnant the first time before I realized that it was set Moroi blood. The irony of it being right the first time was not lost on me.

"You all knew! Why didn't anyone tell me!" I heard Dimitri growl outraged. I could understand his anger, but it wouldn't have mattered if he did know, I'm sure that he did everything in his power to find me, knowing that I carried our baby would have only added to his worry and he might have made mistakes.

"We tried! But your phone wasn't working and you weren't calling Court for updates anymore or we would have, I swear."

I thought I heard Dimitri mutter something under his breath about a skater punk working for that damn talking Llama, but I decided that I must be hearing things.

"Why did you stop calling anyway? We might of had something to tell you about Rose's whereabouts."

"I stopped because everything that I reported could get back to the spy and we would always be one step behind. With me out on my own, the spy couldn't touch me," Dimitri said practically. But then added, "You didn't happen to find out who it was while I was away did you?" Dimitri asked half heartedly, like he wasn't really expecting a positive answer.

"We've narrowed it down to someone who ether has hight level access to our files and information or..."

"Or it's someone that we know, trust or otherwise wouldn't suspect," Dimitri finished for him. I could tell by the way that he fisted his hand through his hair that he was frustrated and I knew why. We had just gone to a great deal of effort to keep my presence hidden from the majority of Court and the spy was most likely someone that we called a friend.

Well we can deal with that later," Lissa said, rejoining the conversation. "Right now we need to get Rose over to the med clinic where the doctor will be waiting with an ultrasound machine that has your name on it."

"And that's my cue," Adrian jumped into the conversation for the first time. He had been watching everyone's reactions with an amused smile on his face like this was the best thing he's seen since the latest episode of Desperate Housewives. Adrian closed his eyes and put the glamour that he had dropped back up.

"And why did you tell Adrian about you first!" Lissa cried and half yelled as she looked at me. "As your best friend and Queen, I demand to be put first on your contact list when there's big news like this!"

"Woah calm down Liss, I'm supposed to be the crazy hormone one!" I said with a laugh. "I needed to get in to see you without alerting half of Court that I'm back. We're trying to keep a low profile until we find whoever the spy is," I explained with a smile, man I had missed her so much.

"Oh, well ok but don't let it happen again!" Lissa said and then pulled me in to another hug. We stayed like that until Dimitri cleared his throat.

"Sorry, but I really do want to get Rose checked out," Dimitri said with a shy smile.

"Right."

After trying, and failing, to convince Lissa to stay in her room, because it would looks suspicious for the Queen to be out and about in the middle of the night headed to the med clinic with Christian, Dimitri and a 'random' guardian. But Lissa was like a force of nature when she wanted to get her own way, and after not seeing her for so long ,I caved.

The doctor took me through to the back room and quickly pulled up my shirt a bit and but some cold gel on my stomach as she asked me a series of questions.

"And you think that you're about five months?" she asked as she set up the machine.

"As near as I can tell. I don't exactly know what's common from a two Dhampir pregnancy," I was answering her questions on auto pilot. All I could focus on was the machine that the doctor was setting up. What would I hear? What would I see? Was the baby alright? Had it been damaged while I was undergoing all of that torture? For the most part, I was able to block out all of my fears about the baby because all it did was stress me out and THAT was bad for the baby.

But now here I was getting my first check up done and all of the worry and panic and every other emotion that I had felt since learning that I was pregnant, was rushing up to the surface.

"The baby will be fine," Dimitri whispered in my ear as I held his hand in a death grip.

"How can't you be sure? After everything that it's been through-"

"I know because our baby is half yours, and you're so strong. There's no way that anything could be wrong," Dimitri said reassuring me. But I could tell that he was just as worried as I was.

The doctor turned on the machine and started rubbing some wand over my stomach while looking at the screen. It looked really blurry to me. But once I focused a bit more, it became clear what I was seeing.

"That's our baby!" I said hardly believing my own eyes.

"Yes, and I'm pleased to tell you that everything looks good. Extremely good in fact considering the circumstances," the doctor muttered to herself, but I stopped listening after the first sentence. Our baby was just FINE.

And that's when I started crying. But it was out of joy. I turned as much as I could and Dimitri wrapped his arms around my shoulders and held me tight, muttering softly to me in Russian.

"Do you want to know the sex?" the doctor asked after smiling at us for a minute while we hugged and cried (and yes some of those tears were Dimitri's).

"Whatever you want Roza," Dimitri said to me with one of his full on smiles lighting up his face.

"I'd actually like to wait until it's born if you're ok with that," I said looking at Dimitri with a smile of my own. Wondering if my baby was a boy or girl was one of the only pleasing thoughts that had kept me going while I was being held captive by Tasha and then later when I was hiding out as Anne. And I didn't want to spoil the surprise.

"Of course it is Roza," Dimitri said kissing my forehead. "Whatever you want."

We got a list of vitamins that I needed to be taking from the docket, or the vitamins that a NORMAL pregnancies would require at leAst. We didn't know what we were dealing with here so we were playing safe. I walked out of the clinic arm in arm with Dimitri and told Lissa and Christian the good news. Lissa squealed for joy and then started talking about throwing me a baby shower.

"That's a really nice thought Liss, but I'm supposed to be hiding," I said hating to crush her hopes, but not really wanting or needing a baby shower.

"We can keep it small! Just close friends and family I promise," Lissa said with begging eyes and I just couldn't say no.

"All right, but keep it as quiet as possible."

"I will I promise," Lissa said jumping up and down again.

It was early in the vampire morning and I wanted nothing more than to just go back home with Dimitri and cuddle in bed. But sadly we needed to hold a meeting. Lissa called all of the usual suspects and with in five minutes, I was being swamped with loved ones and being showered with hugs and kisses.

"Rose we were so worried about you." -Mia.

"I hoped that you kicked some major butt to make up for what they did to you!" -Eddie.

"Rose I'm so sorry that my Strigoi tracker didn't work! I could have found you sooner!" -Sydney.

"Baby don't blame yourself you did everything that you could!" -Adrian to Sydney.

"Oh Rose, I know how hard it is to be held captive, if you ever need to talk I'm here for you!" -A very tear eyes Violet.

"Rose I'm so sorry I wasn't here when you needed me! I came as soon as I could." -Ivan, while almost crushing me in a bear hug.

"Careful with the death grip, you do realize she pregnant right? I mean she's huge! -Christian, the ass.

"Little girl I knew you would make it out of there alive! You're a tough one."

-Dad.

"Oh Rose, it's bad enough that you get kidnapped, but to do it when your carrying our grandchild!" -My mother. But I couldn't tell if she was happy that I was back or scolding me for getting captured in the first place.

"Alright alright everyone we're all happy that Guardian Hathaway is back safe and sound, but can we please stay on topic here. They called an emergency meeting for a reason I'm sure. And I'm also sure that it wasn't for this lovely teary reunion." -Hans.

"Sadly he's right, we didn't get you all up out of bed just to suffocate me with hugs," I said and gave them all a brief run down on how I met Sam and how he's on our side, and then finally about the meeting that Tasha's holding and what we should do about it.

"And chocolate did all that!" Lissa laughed after I was done.

I laughed at her reaction. "I know it's pretty crazy right? I knew there was a reason that I loved it so much!"

"The real question is," Dimitri said with a bit of a smile at my comment. "Do we just send Sam in as a spy and find out Tasha's plan, or do was launch a full out attack and take out as many as possible."

"I'm voting against the attack. Sam told me that Tasha was sending people to outpost for some reason. It was actually our back up plan for getting me out of there. If we wipe the ones at the meeting out then the ones that are left will go out on their own and before you know it, we have another Strigoi epidemic on our hands."

"But if the majority of the swarm is at the meeting then it will be more effective to attack them now," said Eddie.

"True, but will Tasha get suspicious if "Anne' doesn't come back?" Mia asked.

"Maybe but Sam can cover for me."

"And you think that we can trust a Strigoi to give us good intel?" Hans asked.

"He's the reason that I'm still alive! Of course he's trustworthy!" I snapped back.

"Why don't we just spy on the meeting instead?" asked Adrian.

"We need to mark a decision soon because were losing time," Hans said getting agitated.

"Why don't we just do both?" Sydney asked.

We were silent as we all turned to look at her. I spoke up first.

"The meeting will be broadcasting all over, if we attack then then all of the outpost will know that we're on to them and scatter."

"Yeah, but why don't we spy on the meeting and find out Tasha's plan, and the location of the outpost and then wait until the meeting is over and the broadcast is over and wipe out the whole swarm. The others won't know what happened and by the time that they do, we will have already hunted them down."

Silence. Then-

"I'm in love with a genius!" Adrian cried out and pulled Sydney in for a hot kiss.

"For once Adrain I actually agree with you. That's a great idea Sydney," I said smiling.

"I'll get a team together, Rose you tell your Strigoi friend to keep up appearances and cover for you if anyone asks. Everyone else just keep your lips shut. We leave Court within the hour.

**Ok, now all of you need to go back to the last chapter and read the bit at the beginning! Because the talking Llama is not at all amused that none of you read his first appearance, he's very sensitive you know. **

**Anyway it's almost show time! Were is the back up bace? **

**Who is the spy? **

**What will Rose and Dimitri call there baby?**

**well review and I might just tell you ;) **


	26. Chapter 26

**Ok ok you can be mad at me later! But just remember, of you kill me now you will never know the end of the story!**

**Anyway the award for the best review gots to...(drum roll)**

VAGypsy

Best be careful about the Llama talk, he could pop up at any time...or he is sitting back watching the Tasha show, eating his McHappy meal! *evil laugh*  
I have no idea who the spy is...cause I'm more of a science wiz like Sydney but can I place my vote for baby names? Definitely Russian and perhaps Luka for a boy! Plsssssssslet it be a little Dimitri! Rose is right, the more Dimitri's in the world, the better our lives will be *shamefully grinning then runs back to my secret lab to continue work on a Dimitri cloning machine*

**And thank you so much for reviewing on all of the chapters that you missed, that really made me kick start my work:) **

**Oh and I just need 5 reviews to make it to 300! Can't you help? Pease? Puppy dog eyes**

Disclaimer: I don't own VA:(

_"I'm in love with a genius!" Adrain cried out and pulled Sydney in for a hot kiss. _

_"For once Adrian, I actually agree with you. That's a great idea Sydney," I said smiling. _

_"I'll get a team together, Rose you tell your Strigoi friend to keep up appearances and cover you if anyone asks. Everyone else just keep your lips shut. We leave Court within the hour. _

TPOV

I was in a bad mood, to say the least, when I arrived at the back up base. And after being forced to flee my own base and scatter all of my swarm, I was hardly going to be all rainbows and sunshine now was I?

I stormed in and everyone immediately began tripping over themselves to either get out of my way or to help me with anything that I needed. It's good to be the queen.

"Status report," I barked out at the closest Strigoi. It's a shame that Natalie was killed when Dimka attacked, she really was useful.

"Everything has been set up and is ready. All of the outpost have been alerted and will be listening. We go live in just a few hours."

"Good."

I had hoped to keep this base, and my plans, secret a little bit longer but desperate times call for desperate measures. And enough of the pieces have fallen into place for my plans to work anyway. Tonight everything was going to change, tonight I was going to become a queen.

"Where's Anne? I need to take my anger out on someone," I said to no one in particular as I scanned the surrounding Strigoi for her face.

"She's not here! She must have gotten killed in the invasion," said one to my left.

"No she didn't, I saw her run off. If she's not here by now then she must be out there living it up and killing as many humans as she wants. Lucky bitch," said a female with daggers in her eyes. Mmm maybe it was time to replace Natalie...

"Maybe she just decided to run away, I know I would have if I was in her shoes," muttered another voice.

"Well somebody had better find her quick or else one of you will be taking her place!" I screamed out just to see them cringe.

Smiling at the effect that I had on all of them, I was just getting ready to order some of the minions to set up the big projector screen so that everyone could see me when my phone rang.

"Report!" I said not at all pleased that my spy hadn't picked up on the attack and given me fair warning. I may just have to kill him later for it. But what he said next put all thoughts of past attacks out of my mind.

"Mistress it's Rose...she has returned!"

"_What_!" I cried out. Of all the things that I had expected him to be reporting, it wasn't that. "But Rose escaped over a month ago, why would she just show up out of the blue now? And is Dimka with her?"

"Yes, she and Dimitri returned early in the human day. She was apparently hiding out disguised as a Strigoi until she was able to escape."

"_What_!?" I cried as it clicked in my mind. Anne! The only reason that I had kept her around was because she looked like Rose, and now she has disappeared at the exact time that Rose suddenly appears back at Court! It was no coincidence.

"She was hiding right under my nose! How? She's not that smart! I mean I bet that the only reason that she graduated school was because she screwed half the male faculty!"

"She apparently enlisted the help on a Strigoi named Sam."

Sam? He's not that smart either! But he is a genius with tactics. Or should I say, he WAS.

"How much does she know?" If she or Sam had somehow learned my plans then it would stop me dead in my tracks.

"She knows about the outpost but not where, and the meeting tonight but nothing more."

Well that was something.

"Anything else to report?"

"She's also pregnant."

And just when I thought that I couldn't get any more shocked and angry.

"_WHAT_!" I really needed to start saying something else.

"It's true, and she's claiming that it's Dimitri's. No one at Court is questioning it."

Well I always knew that the little blood whore would get herself knocked up eventually, but to actually manage to trick Dimka in to thinking that it was his? How dumb did men get when you took off your bra?

"Enough of that, what's their plan for the meeting tonight?"

"A team will be sent out to spy on the meeting and locate the outpost. After the meeting, they're to attack and wipe you all out before hitting all of the out post and wiping out the Strigoi once again."

Mmmm this might just be able to work out to our advantage.

"What are your orders mistress?"

I smiled as I saw something out of the corner of my eye and a plan started forming in my mine.

"I have an idea."

DPOV

"Well I still don't like it!" Rose said as I took her back to our place. We still needed to keep a low profile and Rose needed to rest after everything that she had been through.

"I mean what happened to cutting back on guardianing and making us your top and only priority," she said rubbing her stomach again. I think she liked being able to do that without having to hide it.

"You two are my top priority, and nothing will changed that. But this mission is very important for the safety of both you and our baby. We both know that Hans picked me for the mission because I'm the best, and it's not like I'm going in alone. I already called the team of mercenaries that Abe hired and along with the Court Guardians, the Strigoi at the meeting won't even stand a chance. I'll be home before dinner," I said pulling her to a stop and cupping her face in my hands.

"And once Tasha is no longer a threat I'm going to be home and around you so much that you will probably get sick of me before the baby is even born."

Rose gave me a "_you're crazy_" smile and said, "No chance of that Comrade." Before going up on tipy toes and kissing me. It was slow and sweet, but at the same time deep and meaningful. It made me want to scoop her up in my arms and cary her back to our bed and make love to her again. But sadly we didn't have any time to waste. Hans wanted everyone ready to move out within the hour. So pulling back gently, I took Rose's hand again and took her home.

"Now you're sure that you have everything that you need?" I asked for the tenth time as I was about to leave. I had set Rose up in bed with everything that I thought that she could possibly need. I may have gone a little overkill, but I just wanted to make sure that Rose had everything she needed in case I was gone for longer than I thought. So far I had...

A mountain of all kinds of food, a stack of DVDs, the TV remote, her phone fully charged, the doctor's number on speed dial, all of her vitamins, extra pillows and blankets, all of the fast food coupons and numbers beside her in case she had a pregnancy craving that I hadn't planned for, the remote for the air conditioning in case she got to hot or cold, tissues in case she got hormonal, magazines and books that she liked, and the solemn promise of at least five for her friends to call or drop by to check in on her.

Like I said overkill, but after everything that has happened, I think that I was entitled to be a little over protective.

"Oh my gosh yes! Stop asking! I have everything that I could possibly need within arms reach except for the toilet and the kitchen sink!"

Damn! I knew I forgot something.

"Well if you don't want to get up to go, I could get a bed pan delivered so-"

"Ok gross! I was just kidding!" Rose cried out in exasperation. "The only thing that I need right now is for you to come home safely," Rose added in a serious tone.

I walked over and sat on the side of the bed and kissed her softly. "I will I promise," I said and put my hands on our baby. "And I need you to stay here and look after our baby."

Rose just rolled her eyes at that. "Yeah this kid is going to be SUCH a handful. Well at least I can't lose it," she laughed.

"I'll be home soon, I love you," I said unable to stop myself from leaning in and kissing her again.

"I love you too."

After forcing myself to leave, I was heading to the meeting room for the briefing when I heard voices coming from inside.

"- can't tell anyone." Was that Ivan?

"No that won't work, people will wonder why I'm disappearing all the time and if we're seen in public, people might connect the dots."

_What_? I opened the door a bit to see Ivan talking on the phone to someone, looking stressed. Normally I didn't like eavesdropping...but until I found out who the spy was everyone, even my best friend was a suspect. And if Ivan was talking to that damn talking llama we were gong to be having words.

"No it has to be tonight. Things are getting tense here and we need to move things up." Silence, then, "No, no one suspects anything yet, but I can't keep this hidden for much longer or someone's going to catch on."

This was not good. I had no idea who Ivan was taking to on the phone, but from this end it sounded very incriminating.

"Look I can't talk right now, the mission briefing is about to happen. I'll call you again when I know more-"

"What are you doing in here?" A new voice came from the other end of the room. I peeked through the door and saw Ivan look up surprised at Hans. He quickly hung up the phone and put it in his pocket.

"I just wanted to be here to see if we could help. I know a thing or two about Strigoi after all," Ivan said in a dry voice.

"And I also want to be here to support my best friend."

I chose that moment to open up the doors completely and walk in. "Someone talking about me?" I asked walking in with my guardian mask in place. It was better to come in now then to get found out by some other Guardian that was coming in behind me.

Ivan turned and smiled at me like nothing was wrong. "I just wanted to be here in case I could be of any help," he said sounding so sincere that I almost had second thoughts. Could the spy really be Ivan? Did being a Strigoi for so long mess with his mind enough to make him miss it?

"Well any help is always appreciated, thank you."

"How's Rose doing?" Violet asked from a chair in the corner of the room that I hadn't noticed before, with a concerned look one her face. And now I really didn't know what to think. If Ivan was the spy could he be working alone? Or could Violet really miss the Strigoi that much after being held by Ivan for thee years?

"She's doing well, but she wasn't happy that I had to go on this mission. I guess that she's sick of us being kept apart." _So was I. _

"Well this is going to be the last time," Lissa said as she came into the room. "Because as soon as you're done and Tasha is wiped out, you're effectively going on maternity leave with Rose."

I raised an eyebrow. "Maternity leave is for women."

"Oh I know, but I also don't care. I'm the queen and I say that you're going on paid leave until well after the baby is born and you think that both Rose and the little one are strong and healthy enough to cope without you for a few hours a day. Then we will talk about you going back to full time guarding."

The well trained and hard Guardian in me wanted to refuse Lissa's order and say that I was more than capable of working until the baby was born. But the soon to be father side of me took over and told the Guardian part of me to shut up because I had just gotten everything that I wanted.

"Thank you Lissa. Rose and I are lucky to have a friend like you," I said not knowing how to show her how thankful I was.

"It's nothing, just name your future daughter after me and we will call it even," Lissa said with a small laugh. I knew that she wasn't being serious, but I had a strong feeling that if we did have a daughter that Rose was going to do that anyway.

After another few minutes, the rest of the team arrived and Hans started off.

"Ok the plan is simple. We meet up at the rendezvous point with Sam and he gives us the information that we need. Dimitri will then call up the team that he has been working with and after we spy on the meeting and get all the info we can about the outposts and the feed is down, we attack and wipe them all out. Any questions?"

There were none.

We met up with Abe's team at the same place just before we met up with Sam about a half an hour out of Court in more bush land that the Strigoi seemed to like hiding in. I gave them a quick run down on why I never came back and what we were doing here.

"So you found her! Good for you," said Leo with a big smile.

"Aaaw so this will be our final night together?" asked Nick in a dramatic voice with a stupid grin. "We will just have to make the best of it."

"So we're NOT supposed to kill this Strigoi?" asked Ben, looking almost upset.

They asked all at once and I smiled. I was really going to miss some of these goofballs.

"Yes I found her, yes it will most likely be our last night together and yes you shouldn't kill this Strigoi. He's on our side and he's helping us."

"Well at least we will get to take out the others," Jace said with a grin. Nick was rubbing off on him.

A few minutes later Sam showed up and I made the introductions. The other Guardians were hesitant to be around him and I noticed a few of them holding their stake tight by their side. But after everything that he had done for Rose and our child over the last month, I was more than willing to trust him with my life.

"I've spread the word that 'Anne' was killed when I was at the meeting point before, and no one seems to suspect a thing. Not that they would care, or even notice. The meetings starting in ten minutes so get to a good vantage point and wait. I'll mill around the crowd and see if I can get anything useful."

"Just get out of the way when the fighting starts or the others might get you confused with the enemy," I warned. I didn't want Sam to have worked so hard to get restored only to fall at the finish line.

"And take this," I said giving him an ear piece. "If things get heated, I want you to be able to know when to run for cover."

"Thanks."

We split up and found places to hide right before Tasha got up on a make shift stage and started her speech.

"All right all of you listen up. Tonight we are going to launch our finale attack against the Moroi, tonight we take over _Court_!"

At that, she got a round of applause and screams. After it died down a bit she continued.

"We will not be alone in our assault. Here is a map of all of the outposts that I have set up." As she said this, the projector screen that had been showing her face showed a map with red dots all around it. And there was at least fifty. With who knew how many Strigoi a base. Not good.

"After we have taken over Court I will give the command to the outposts that I have set up all over the world, and then they will attack and kill everyone that they see. The humans will be in so much panic that they will be lambs to the slaughter. And before anyone knows what has truly happened, I will have taken over to world!"

Another round of applause and a sinking feeling in my gut appeared. Tasha was better organized than we had thought. We were lucky that Rose tipped us off about this, otherwise Court would have been Court unawares. The moment that Tasha cut the feed to the outposts that were listening to this, we had to attack and eliminate every single Strigoi here or else we wouldn't be able to make it to all of the outpost around the world in time.

"And here is how we're going to do it," Tasha launched into a detailed attack strategy and even though I planned on never letting any of them get close enough to Court for it to ever be executed, I had to admit that it was good.

But about halfway through the speech something happened. A bat that was flying swooped low, near Tasha's head...and she didn't even flinch. And then for a few seconds her voice got a bit distorted. That could just have been the speaker...but something just didn't seem to fit right. I risked sending a link to Jones.

"Hay, is it just me or is something...up with Tasha?"

"Not just Tasha, something is up with all of them," Jones said back in a puzzled voice.

We kept watching, but this time zooming in on the binoculars and looking closely to see if anything else happened.

When it did. And owl was chasing a smaller bird. And they were swooping low and around the trees...when the owl actually flew THROUGH Tasha.

"_What the_!" cried out Dan over the mic.

"Sam what's going on down there? I barked out not even bothering to try and stay quiet. Something had been bugging me all night and I think that I was just about to find out what.

"I just put my hand on one of their shoulders and my hand went straight through it! He's not real! None of them are real!"

At that, we all jumped out and got ready for an ambush. _Had they been laying in wait the entire time_? I thought as I looked around.

But no. We waited, but nothing happened. No one in the crowd seemed to see us and Tasha never stopped talking.

Jones ran his hand through a few of them, looking amazed.

"Holograms. This is extraordinary. I didn't think that Tasha would be able to get her hands on tech this high up."

"So you're telling me that everyone here is a hologram? Dan asked not looking happy at all that he was no longer in control of the situation.

"Forget them not being real, what I want to know is that if they're not here, then where are they?" Hans asked, voice full of tension.

"Why hello Dimka," said Tasha's voice. We all turned to look at the big projector screen to see that the REAL Tasha was on it.

"I was wondering when you would figure out my little trick. Clever wasn't it? I certainly thought so. I mean money can buy you so many new toys now days and what better way to spend it on than in making a diversion that will get the best Guardians away from Court, leaving it pathetically week and vulnerable," she said and the camera zoomed out to show Tasha...

Standing outside a burning

**Ok so a lot just happened so let's sit down and focus on the important things.**

**Tasha is a bitch.**

**Dimitri is still hot.**

**And the talking Llama will take any excuse to story bomb my fan Fic.**

**Soooo the spy is a guy hu? What do you think about that?**

**And what's Tasha going to do now that she has court defenceless?**

**And what am I going to do next chapter?**

**Well review and I might tell you;)**

**And once again, 5 more reviews to reach 300!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Hay! You can't hate me that much! This time I updated within a week! **

**But you will all be happy to know that I made it to 300 reviews! Thank you all so much for all of your help:) **

**Anyway here is the next chapter and some funny reviews to tied you over lol:) **

DauntlessTrin

I'm really confused. It isn't the story, it's just my tired ADD brain. Once again, you update at 1 in the morning. Y u make meh tired? I AM NOT A GUY. I HAVE VERY LUSCIOUS BLUE LOCKS, I SAY. WHY DO YOU THINK I AM A GUY? I AM VERY MUCH A GIRL, WITH MANY HORMONES. ugh. *hair flip* Now that court is defenceless, Tasha will run to me (thinking that I am her spy) and will throw fire balls at her. Because I am a cat （ω）Next chapter Rose will fall on her way to the bathroom and Dimitri will force her to use a bed pan. Mwhahaha.  
Toodles

**If cats can now throw fire balls then I'm in trouble because I live with three of them!**

**Guest**

UPDATEEEEEEEEEEE:DONT BE SO MEAN...IF NOT I'LL BE MEAN! I'LL PUT HTE TALKING LLAMA AS UR SHADOW AND U SHALL NEVER BE RID OF IT AND THEN IT WILL WRAO ITSELF AROUND U AND KILL U IN YOURSLEEP...NOTTHAT U R GOOING TO BE ABLE TO  
JUST UPDATE NOW IFU DONT WANNA DIEEEEEE DUDE

** Well snits you asked so nicely lol**

_"I was wondering when you would figure out my little trick. Clever wasn't it? I certainly thought so. I mean money can buy you so many things now a days and what better way to spend it on than in making a diversion that will get the best Guardians away from Court, leaving it pathetically weak and vulnerable," she said and the camera zoomed out to show Tasha..._

Standing outside a burning court.

RPOV

I was sitting in bed, just about onto my second tub of Ben&amp;Jerry's ice cream (from the small esky that Dimitri had put by the bed with all of the other food) and thinking that life was pretty good right now.

I mean for the past four months of my life, I had slept half the time on a small, hard mattress and the other half on the floor because I was either too traumatized from the water torture to stand it, or because I was partly paralyzed and couldn't get back up onto my bed. And now I was in a big queen size super soft bed with mountains of fluffy pillows.

For the last four months, I have been kept in isolation, and when people did drop by to see me, it was usually Tasha who treated me with hatred and abuse. But now I was just a phone call away from any one of my friends who would come by for a visit and pamper me.

For the past four months, I have been eating bad food that was barely enough for my growing appetite. And now I had an entire house worth of food within arms reach, and several numbers that would deliver to me in less than a heart beat.

For the past four moths, I have been going out of my mind with boredom. But now I had TV, DVD's, books and many other numbers of entertainment at my fingertips.

So yes. Life was pretty good right now. Except for the fact that my almost husband was at this very moment taking on a vicious swarm of Strigoi led by what I consider (overreaction or cliches be damned) my arch enemy. I knew that Dimitri was one of the best Guardians there was, and that he was a badass, and that he could take just about anyone in a fight. But all of that was true back at the caves and he still got taken from me. Even the best fighter in the world could get out numbered and overwhelmed!

So even though I was back in the safety of my home and surrounded by my family and loved ones, with every want and luxury within either reaching or calling distance, I still wasn't happy. And I wouldn't be until I had Dimitri back at my side.

I know that I was overreacting, and that it could just very well be the pregnancy hormones kicking in, and that Dimitri and the team had only been gone about an hour, but I just couldn't help the twisted sick feeling in my gut. Like I knew something bad was going to happen.

Throwing the blanket off, I got out of bed and got on some comfy shoes and went for a walk. I knew that I was supposed to be keeping a low profile, but most of the Guardians were at the attack and the ones that were left were ether newbies that didn't know me that well, or ones that wouldn't question me being there and knew better than to say anything about it.

I knew that Lissa had total access to everything at Court, and that while she wasn't getting live feeds from the mission, she could still get some intel about what was happening and how it was going. It was standard protocol for the team leader (Hans) to send out status reports when he could, and when it wouldn't endanger the mission, to keep Court as prepared as possible for any outcome.

And Lissa, being my sister in all but blood, would tell me the second that anything happened when they made contact.

I walked in to Lissa's private room that led off from the thrown room and saw her and Christian kissing.

"Well that's certainly one sight that I haven't missed since I've been gone," I said with my usual bravo. Lissa immediately pulled back from sucking face with Christian.

"Rose! What are you doing here? You're supposed to be on bed rest!" she scolded me...or tried to. But she was just so happy that I was back that it was hard for her to keep the smile off of her face.

"I know I know, but you can't just expect me to sit back in bed and relax when my man is out there risking his life to make mine and his child's lives safe again. It just doesn't work like that," I said walking over to a chair to sit down.

I didn't say it outloud, but all of this just reminded me of when Dimitri was taken last time. Well it wasn't exactly the same, but he was going in to a dangerous situation along with a team of Guardians, attacking a swarm of killer Strigoi. It was similar enough to make my already fragile nerves sit on edge. I mean we're both Guardians and our line of work was never going to be safe, and I knew that going in. But this time, with me being pregnant, I just felt so small (metaphorically speaking) and helpless (also metaphorically speaking). Not to mention that all I wanted to do right now was kick Tasha's ass!

"Aw Rose don't worry about it!" Lissa said coming to sit down next to me. "You know that Dimitri's the best, he's going to be just fine! And he has so much to fight for! I mean just the thought of you back here waiting to greet him with open arms will give him more than enough motivation to get this over and done with fast," Lissa said immediately comforting me as best she could. I still felt on edge, but having Lissa close by helped.

"Thanks Liss, do you mind if I just hang out here until he gets back?" Call me clingy an pathetic if you want, but you try being held hostage and being isolated from everyone that you love to finally come back only to be separated from the one person that you loved and missed most of all and see how you feel! And not only that, he was on a dangerous and life threatening mission! So I didn't feel like being alone right now! So sue me!

"Of course! You know you don't even need to ask! Wait here as long as you like!" Lissa said without even a seconds hesitation.

"Ugh, you've only been back what two hours? And I'm already sick of you stealing Lissa from me!" Christian complained.

"Wach it Chirssy, because even if I'm pregnant, I can still kick your ass, which is just super sad for you," I said automatically. I guess that no matter how much time I spend away from him, torturing and humiliating Christian will always come naturally.

"Oh be nice to her Chris, she's had a rough couple of months," Lissa said instinctively on my side. Well the first few months may have sucked, but one things for sure, the rest of this pregnancy was going to be a breeze!

"Yeah be nice to the pregnant lady Chrisy or she will sneak into your room at night and give you a really bad hair cut ...oops to late."

Christian just smirked. "And here I thought that you had the monopoly on bad hair cuts Rosie."

"One more comment like that and your cut off for a week!" Lissa threatened and Christian actually shrunk back looking scared and hurt. HA that I'll teach him to mess with me.

We were just chatting away, catching up on all of the things that I had missed while I was gone when it happened. One minute everything was as normal as always, and the next...

BOOM.

And not just one, another and another!

"What the hell is going on!?" I yelled as a bunch of Guardians came running in to surround Lissa and Christian. Since the safe room apparently had a secret tunnel leading into it they must have decided to keep Lissa here and surrounded.

"What's going on?" Lissa asked one of the Guardians that just ran in the room.

"Court is under attack!"

"What? But the attack isn't supposed to happen yet! Hans and Dimitri are still at the meeting that was meant to be planning it!" Lissa called out in shock and confusion as Christian pulled her close looking like he was going to set anyone that came to close on fire.

"Well I guess plans have change! Because we're under attack now!" Christian called out.

This was bad. Court was very well defended from all sides so we weren't completely helpless, but a bunch of our best Guardians were currently at the meeting that was apparently a decoy! So we weren't in good shape either.

"Who's in charge? What are our numbers looking like? Is someone handling getting the Moroi to safety?" I asked Jeff, who was the leader of this little group.

"We're not to great on numbers, but we do have protocols for getting the moroi to safty. But unfortunately-"

"They won't work if Court is completely surrounded on all sides and Court off guard," said a voice from behind me. A voice that I never wanted to hear again.

I turned around and yep, the person who was standing right behind me was Tasha.

"Hello Rosemarie," Tasha said with a cold smile.

DPOV

No, no, no, no this couldn't be happening! Tasha couldn't be at Court! She was supposed to be here! With the swarm! If they were all at Court then...

I turned at grabbed Sam. "Did you know about this?" I demanded, if he did then I would stake him right now. Rose was back at Court, right in the firing line and within Tasha's grasp. And not just her, our baby! A baby that I had only just found out about but that I loved with everything in me!

"No I didn't I swear! I would never betray Rose! We pinky promised on it!" he said that like it was a blood vow. I vaguely remembered Rose telling me that the reason that Sam was different from the other Strigoi was that he was autistic, and as such saw the world differently. And that in his eyes a pinky promises was the strongest thing that there was.

"Aww don't blame poor Sam, he was just a pawn in my plans," Tasha said still on the projector screen. I let go of Sam and looked back at her.

"What do you want Tasha? Is it me? I'm right her, come and get me!" I said holding out my arms wide like I was inviting her to hit me. "I won't fight back, you can have me. No strings attached," I said more than willing to give myself up if it meant that Rose and the baby would be ok. But Tasha just gave me a cold Strigoi laugh.

"Oh Dimka, you're right. I do want you for myself. But why stop at just having you when I can have the world too?" she said, smiling so big I could see her fangs.

"So come on home Dimka, by the time you get back I will have a nice welcoming committee set up. If you hurry I will let you see your little pregnant blood whore one last time," she said and then she turned and the last thing that I saw was her walking into the tunnel that lead straight under the thrown room. And straight to my Roza!

I ran. I didn't stop to talk, or scream, or even punch anything in my anger. All that my body or brain could focus on right now was getting back to my Roza.

I made it back to the cars at least three minutes faster than the rest of the others, except for Sam.

"I'm coming with you!" he said jumping in behind me.

I wanted to argue, but at this point I was beyond caring. If he got in my way I would kill him (I still think that he had something to do with all of this). If not then I would deal with him later.

I was strapped in and had the car running by the time the others got there, and started driving before the door was even shut.

"Now Belikov I know what you're thinking," Hans said next to me. "And that nothing that I say can change your mind. But please don't just barge in there head first without thinking, you're not going to be any good to Rose if you get yourself captured. We will get back there and we will save her I promise."

I didn't respond. I couldn't. I just focused on driving. I must have been going more than double the speed limit and it still wasn't fast enough. I made it back to Court in half the time that it took us to get there and was moving before I even stopped the car fully.

"Belikov we need a plan," Hans said, and even though everything in me was just wanting to run in there and kill the first Strigoi that I found, years of Guardian training kicked in and I stopped long enough to hear the plan.

"Ok now we know that Tasha is going for the thrown room so we're going to split up into two groups. Belikov, you take half the team and go in the front door, make as much noise and kill as many Strigoi as you can," Han said. I just nodded, I had no trouble following that order right now.

"Meanwhile I'll lead the other half and go in the tunnels and sneak up behind Tasha. Once we're both in position we go for the kill. Ready? Break."

And I was off. _I'm coming Roza, just hold on a little bit longer.  
_

RPOV

"Hello Rosemarie," Tasha said with a cold smile.

And it made me snap. But instead of being afraid of what she would do to me. Or shocked and surprised that she had managed to break into Court a second time, or just plain scared for my life, I decided on annoyed and sarcastic.

"And now apparently we have this!" I said, just over it all! My life just couldn't be this ridiculous! I mean it's like someone is just making all this up just for kicks!

"What the hell do you want?" I shouted in exaggerated exasperation. "And don't give me some stupid answer like "to kill you" or "to take over the world" because I've heard it all before! Seriously can't we just cut to the chase and fight to the death so I can put you out of everybody's misery?"

The look on Tasha's face just then was priceless! I think I just shocked her into speechlessness. I was a bit surprised by my attitude too, but hey, I was over this crazy bitch and I wanted to get this over with fast.

"Well that certainly wasn't the reaction that I was expecting," Tasha said with a frown. Good! I wanted to spoil her fun!

"Don't you want to know how I managed to break into Court a second time so soon?" she asked truly confused that I didn't want her to explain in every detail her evil plan. Well I didn't have an ace up my sleeve this time and didn't need to play for time so why would I bother catering to her super villain ranting needs?

"Well I'm assuming that you used the tunnels like last time," I said not wanting to play her game. I had had to do what she said, what she wanted, act the way that I was meant to so that I could survive for month! I was so over doing what she wanted me to do. And I was not playing her little mind games. And why weren't the Guardians surrounding us attacking?

"Well...yes," Tasha said sounding slightly unsure but then she put in a cocky smile and continued like this was her speech from the beginning.

"But the tunnels were mostly dead ends, meant to confuse anyone that followed the monarch down, with only one way leading to freedom...or so you thought."

"Yeah I knew that!" I didn't actually, but I didn't want Tasha to think that she had one up on me. And I had bluffed my way all through high school, I was more than capable of thinking on my feet enough to keep Tasha on her toes.

"Lissa ordered the tunnels closed up after you attacked," I said only because I knew that that was something that Lissa would do.

But Tasha looked happy that I had brought it up. "Yes she did. But only the tunnels that you KNEW about. You see my little spy helped me cover up the existence of the tunnels from the start, and after my first attack he managed to only get one tunnel closed up." Then she leaned in closer, like this was all some big secret that she was only sharing with us. "But there were more tunnels, ones that led all over - or should I say under Court. And I had my swarm place bombs all over before we invaded, all the better to confuse you when we attacked! As we speak my swarm is now surrounding Court and taking over. They will round up all the Moroi like helpless little lambs. And once I have control here, I will give word out to all of my outposts and they will do the same thing. By this time tomorrow, I will be the queen of the world."

"Yeah sounds like a blast, " I said rolling my eyes. "Hay," I said to the Guardians around me. "You know that the silver things in your hands aren't just fashion accessories right? Why aren't you attacking the crazy Strigoi hell bent on world domination?" I asked looking around.

"Because if they kill me there will be no one left to call of the attack," Tasha said smiling sweetly.

"Well that's still no reason to let you just stand there looking bitchy, attack her and make her stop the attack!" I shouted at Jeff. "Come on what's with you?" I asked looking around at all of the Guardians, some of them didn't even have their stakes raised.

"They're not attacking because that know that if they attack, I will kill the person that's most dear to them," said a second voice that walked up behind Tasha... Followed by a face that I never would have expected to be fighting for the other side.

"No," I whispered yelled. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't real.

But it was. It was real and it was happening right in front of me. And it was him. He was the spy.

It was...Hans

**AAAAA(covers ears to block out all of your screaming) I know, I know. You didn't see that one coming now did you? I mean Hans!? How did that happen? Well guess what? There's more! But you will have to review so I feel motivated to update:) And it had better be good!'**


	28. Chapter 28

**SORRY SORRY SORRY! I have no excuse! I was just lazy:( but hopefully this will stop you all from ganging up on me, finding out were I live and holding me hostage until I finish this story! **

DauntlessTrin

I'm... speechless.

HOW MANY TIMES CAN YOU GET MY NAME AND GENDER IDENTITY WRONG? I AM TRINITY. NOT HANS.

This should be motivation enough.

Love you sometimes ヽ(**)ﾉ

**Sorry that I didn't live up to your expectations lol**

The cat with blue eyes

Hans? It can't be Hans! I mean... No. Just no. I refuse. This did not happen. You shouldn't listen to a talking llama when it comes to plot you know?

**But he just sounded so tempting lol:) **

roza m belicova

What the f*** is wrong with you! Why do you always have so many questions! Why do you keep asking whose the dam spy! I can't really threaten you to update yet, cause I still have one more chapter to read!

I must also say sorry for disappearing for so long! Your dam stupid pain in the asss talking llama decided it was best to trash my computer for some reason! Anyway, I still love you ;)

**One chapter later...**

roza m belicova

You f***ing bitch! What the f***ing hell! How could you just leave it there! Are you f***ing crazy? I am going to kill you! I am going to get my parrots to pick your eyes out! And then I'll turn your very own cats on you, cause you know, they can now throw fireballs! Will you update already?

**AAAAA my cats sleeping right next to me now! Good cat...nice cat...:0**

anon

WHATTTTTTTTTTT?! WHEN DID HANS BECOME THE SPY?OH G** U GOTTA TELL TELL ME QUICK...WAS THAT WHY HANS KEPT DELAYING PLANS? MAN WHATS GOING ON THIS IS MESSED UP!MY LLIFE IS MESSED UP!BY THAT STUPID TALKING LLAMA WHO REALY IS GOING TO KILL U IF U DONT UPDATE SOON! HE WILL BE TALKING YOUR EARS OUT

**Well how did that NOT convince me to up dats sooner? :) **

PLS chapter 27 . Aug 14

WHAT THE...WHAT JUST HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

OMG what just happened to hans did he drink too much?hahhahaha buttttttttt WHY DID U USE A CLIFFHANGER OH MY MAMAI CANT STAND IT GOSH UPDATE QUICK OR THE TALKING LLAMA WILL SPY ON U AND TELL ME IF YOUR WRITING AND THEN HE WILL PUNCH U IN UR SLEEP AND GET U TO WAKE UP AND UPDATEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

**Ok ok I get it already! And the award for the longest review go's to you!**

UPDATEEEEEEEEEEEE chapter 27 . 8h ago

UPPPPPPPDDDDDAAAAATTTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

OR I SHALL KILL YOU IN UR SLEEP

**I like it. Short, sweet, cuts right to the point:) **

**Well ill thank you all so much for your heart felt death threats and I hope that the wait for the next chapter won't be so hard on you:)**

**Disclaimer: You already hate me enough as it is so on with the chapter and I don't own VA**

_Yeah sounds like a blast, " I said rolling my eyes. "Hey," I said to the Guardians around me. "You know that the silver things in your hands aren't just fashion accessories right? Why aren't you attacking the crazy Strigoi hell bent on world domination?" I asked looking around. _

_"Because if they kill me there will be no one left to call of the attack," Tasha said smiling sweetly. _

_"Well that's still no reason to let you just stand there looking bitchy, attack her and make her stop the attack!" I shouted at Jeff. "Come on what's with you?" I asked looking around at all of the Guardians, some of them didn't even have their stakes raised. _

_"They're not attacking because that know that if they attack, I will kill the person that's most dear to them," said a second voice that walked up behind Tasha... Followed by a face that I never would have expected to be fighting for the other side. _

_"No," I whispered yelled. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't real. _

_But it was. It was real and it was happening right in front of me. And it was him. He was the spy. _

_It was...Hans_

RPOV

"What the hell!?" Were the first words out of my mouth. I couldn't believe this, my brain literately couldn't take in and process what I had just heard. It had to be an act right? Hans was just pretending to be on Tasha's side until the right time when he could catch her with her guard down and stake her right?

At least, that's what I hoped.

Tasha just laughed at my reaction, happy to have finally caught me off balance. "I bet you didn't see that one coming," she said laughing again.

_You could say that again!_ I looked at Hans's eyes, trying to see if I could read in them what the hell was going on. But I saw nothing, just normal Hans. And that was the scariest part of all.

"Hans!" Lissa said in shock and surprise from behind me. Christen said nothing, he just looked at everyone else in the room like they were a threat to Lissa that he wanted to set on fire as fast as possible. At least I could rely on someone in this room.

"What's going on here Hans? What do you mean "I will kill the person that's most dear to them." You're not a murderer! You're also not a traitor!" I all but screamed, refusing to believe what I was hearing. There had to be something here that I wasn't seeing, I refused to believe that after all these years of Hans being loyal to the bone that he would suddenly just decide to turn over a new leaf and throw in his lot with the enemy that he had spent his entire life fighting!

"Oh you would be surprised at what he's now capable of," Tasha said still with that annoying grin on her face.

"Ok you are going to start making sense right now!" I ordered. I was so over being kept in the dark.

"Really Rosemarie I thought that you were smarter than this, but I guess that I really shouldn't have," she said letting out an exaggerated breath, like she was disappointed in me. "Very well since you seem to be having trouble understanding what's right in front of you, I will spell it out for you," she said before talking really slowly, like she was speaking a foreign language slower in hopes that I would understand her.

"Hans is my spy. He's always been, In fact he's the one that helped me escape prison in the first place. Didn't you?" Tasha said with a smile as she looked back at Hans.

"I gave the guards on shift faulty glasses that were weaker than the others. Once Tasha turned on her compulsion she was able to make them take the glasses off completely and break out of her cell. I made the guard change at that time so there was less guards than there should have been so she could get out faster. I told her where a car would be easy to acquire and she was off," Hans said in...a normal voice. Like the betrayal of his entire race was no big deal.

"And that's not all!" Tasha said really getting into revealing all of the details of exactly how she had managed to undermine us. "Hans knew about the underground tunnels all along! In fact, he was the one that deleted them from the archives in the first place! And then once they were discovered he still hid exactly how big they were so that I could launch my final assault here today!

"Really I don't know how I could have done it without Hans. He has been such a good spy. He was also good enough to keep me up to date on everything that has been going on back at Court! It was so easy to stay one step ahead of everyone when the Head Guardian was feeding me every bit of information that passed through his hands. And believe me, quite a lot of things do."

I remembered Dimitri telling me with a grimace about how the leak had gotten so bad that he had had to go AWOL to find me.

I searched Hans eyes again, desperate to find anything in them that might explain what was going on, why he had done this. But I got nothing.

"Why?" I asked in a choked whispered, feeling betrayed. A Guardian's life was often lonely, you couldn't let many people in otherwise it would hurt to much if they got killed in battle. But Hans was Head Guardian. He was meant to be the one person that was there, that we could trust above all others. And from the sounds of it, he had just hung us all out to dry.

"Because he had no choice," Tasha said with her 'I win' smile. Apparently having to much fun with her 'food' to quit playing with it.

"You see I can be very persuasive."

"What did I tell you about making sense!" I yelled my temper getting shorter by the minute. What can I say, pregnancy is hell on your hormones.

But Tasha just laughed again. What was it with villains and laughing! Seriously, Tasha was a Moroi, basically a vampire to the outside world, you would think that she had enough of stereotypes!

"Aaaaaw poor Rosemarie getting lost again. It really is a miracle that you graduated school at all. But then again I guess that's all because of Dimka and his training. I guess he's just so good that he can make a good fighter out of anyone. Even a little blood whore like you," Tasha said with a dreamy smile on her lips.

"Quit thinking about my fiancée naked when I'm standing right here!" I said flashing my ring just to spit her. And boy did it hit it's mark! Her smile disappeared right away replaced with a scowl.

Tasha just flipped her hair like I hadn't made much of a point. "He is but a man, and prone to making stupid decisions when woman with loose morals are involved," Tasha said brushing off the fact that Dimitri and I are engaged just like that.

"Well it must not affect him as much as you thought because he turned down your offer more than once!" I said with an 'I win' smile of my own. Just because I couldn't do anything physically to hurt her doesn't mean that I can't still hit her where it hurts. I swear if I wasn't pregnant right now I would be grabbing a stake and wiping that smile off of her face right now!

"Can we please get back on topic here ladies," Christian said looking as confused by everything that had just happened as I was, and mad about it. "Because I'm far more interested in how and why Hans suddenly decided to betray us than in who deserves Belikov more!"

"Oh yes silly me, now where was I?" Tasha said with her smile back in place as she lifted a finger to her lip and put on a fake thoughtful face.

"Aaah yes now I remember. I was telling you how I could be very persuasive. Because Hans might be my spy, but he's not a traitor. Because as far as he's aware, he hasn't don't anything wrong!"

"What?" I asked really lost now. How was Hans her spy but not a traitor?

"Well I've been in prison here for what, two years? And in that time I've spent quite a bit of quality time with Hans here," Tasha said patting Hans's cheek like he was a good pet. "You see compulsion used over a long time and in a certain way can have a very interesting affect on the body. So over the last two years for a little bit every day, I've been in-planting instructions into Hans's mind, over and over again. Until the compulsion went so deep that he couldn't tell my compulsion from his own thoughts."

"But how is that possible? He had his glasses on the whole time! All of the Guardians had to wear them!" I said not following her.

She just shrugged her shoulders. "Accidents happen. Glasses slip if you sweat or sneeze. It only took once and BAM!

"But instead of trying to make him let me out then I bided my time, planting thoughts into his head so that when I did escape I would have help to make sure that my plans succeeded."

I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. "And what command was that?" I asked even though I already had a good idea.

"I implanted in his mind that when the time came and I escaped, that he was to do everything in his power to help me without revealing himself. That he was to give me any and all information that could hinder my plans and that every dream that I had would become a reality," Tasha said, this time her smile had a hint of craziness to it.

I felt as if I had just been slapped in the face. It all fit! How had I not seen it sooner? Hans had been dragging his feet the entire time! With every little thing there was he was behind it! But really I couldn't beat myself up too much over this, I mean seriously his was I supposed to see this coming!

"Hey! Wait a minute, what do you mean by 'he's the spy, but he's not a traitor.' How does that work?" Lissa asked shaking off her fear and acting like the Queen again. Though I knew that this betrayal must have hurt her just as much as the rest of us.

"AAAA," Tasha said looking pleased that Lissa had brought that up. "Because Hans is under such deep compulsion he doesn't even realize that he's doing what he's doing. Everytime that he reported anything to me, or did something to slow you down, he did it on a sort of auto pilot. Not even realizing that he had don't it afterwards. That's what made my plan so genius!" She laughed. "Because even taking a polygraph or under compulsion he would never be picked out as the traitor! It was fool proof," she said with a smile. "Yes, my spy Head Guardian Hans. Code name Talking Llama."

_Code name talking llama!_ You have got to be kidding me! Ok, I have officially had enough of life now! Goodbye and see you all in the after life!

But just before I could articulate that particular thought we were attacked! Again!

DPOV

I charged into a burning Court with only one thing on my mind: kill everything that stood in the way of me getting to Roza. I didn't even stop as I staked my first Strigoi. I just staked and ran, then staked and ran some more. I vaguely noticed the others on my teem doing the same thing, even Sam to my surprise, but all of that was in the back of my mind. I was solely focused on getting to Roza and our baby before anything happened.

At first I made my way to our home. But I quickly realised that with everything going on the chance of Rose sitting at home curled up in our bed was so unluckily as to be impossible. No, my sweet fierce Roza was most likely in the thrown room with Lissa and, just my luck, Tasha.

I raced over to the throne room as fast as I could leaving the rest of my team for now and was just about at the front door...when my brain kicked in and I started actually thinking about my next move. If I just barged in there then I might make Rose a hostage right away. But if I could observe the situation before hand, I could pick the best moment to make my entrance and attack. But how did I get inside the thrown room without being spotted?

Suddenly I had an idea that made me smiled to myself. I quickly called the next senior person in my team and told him to head for the throne room and to attack when I gave them the signal.

I ran off and left the rest of my team to fight the rest of the Strigoi. I headed off to the building next door and quickly found a ventilation shaft big enough for me to fit in (I know I was surprised too!) and began to crawl.

This had been the same way that Rose had planted one of her Strigoi in the thrown room the last time when she was pretending to be an evil Strigoi with Ivan. Hans had of course updated the security snits then, but not from this building. And it was simple to break into the palace vents from here. I would have to bring that up with Hans after this was all over.

Once I was inside, I headed in what I hoped was the direction of the throne room. And after a few minutes of crawling, I started hearing voices. Hoping that that was a good sign, I kept going making sure that I was quiet so that I didn't give away my position.

Once I was over the spot where I could make out the voices clearly, I slid open a vent and peaked through the gaps. And what I heard and saw shocked me!

Roza was standing in the middle of the room with Lissa and Christian at her back with a ring of Guardians around her. I would of breathed out a sigh of relief if it weren't for Tasha standing in front of her looking like she thought she was the queen of the world. I listened as carefully as I could, trying to understand what was happening below me.

"Yeah sounds like a blast," I heard my Roza say with more than her usual amount of sarcasm. I guess that Tasha was really pressing her buttons.

"Hey, you know that the silver things in your hands aren't just fashion accessories right? Why aren't you attacking the crazy Strigoi hell bent on world domination?" Rose said looking back at the ring of Guardians questioningly. And for good reason, why hadn't eyes attacked already? Tasha didn't have any back up and didn't have a hostage this time. So why not attack?

"Because if they kill me there will be no one left to call off the attack." Tasha said smiling sweetly.

"Well that's still no reason to let you just stand there looking bitchy, attack her and make her stop to attack!" Rose shouted "Come on what's with you?" Rose said but still none of them moved. I was really wondering what was going on as well. And what happened next did nothing to help my confusion.

"They're not attacking because they know that if they attack, I will kill the person that's most dear to them," said a second voice that walked up behind Tasha... A voice that knew, that I trusted, that I had heard not to long ago as it told me to split up the teams and attack and make as much noise as possible.

"No," I heard Rose croak out, not wanting to believe what was happening. Because I couldn't believe it either, but there it was, plain as day, the traitor..

It was...Hans.

"What the hell!?" Rose cried out and I almost joined her. What was going on here? Hans was the most respected Guardian in Court, I couldn't believe that he could be capable of something like this!

I heard Tasha laugh and I tried to overcome my shock enough to listen to what was going on.

"I bet you didn't see that one coming," she said laughing again. I hated her laugh. Even as a Strigoi, my Roza's voice had always held a bit of warmth, had a bit of life to it. But Tasha's had always been as cold as ice. I guess that's what happened when your heart was as cold as hers.

"Hans!" Lissa said in shock and surprise from behind Rose. I really didn't like her being here in the thick of things. Especially with Hans having apparently threatened all of the Guardians' loved ones. I suddenly wondered if the half of the team that Hans had taken with him were just waiting in the tunnels that he had come out of, because he had threatened their loved ones in the same way.

And if he had, was my team going to come and give me the back up that I was hoping for?

"What's going on here Hans? What do you mean "I will kill the person that's most dear to them." You're not a murderer! You're also not a traitor!" Rose screamed, refusing to believe that Hans was the spy all along. I was having a hard time believing it myself.

"Oh you would be surprised at what he's now capable of," Tasha said in an annoying voice.

"Ok you are going to start making since right now!" Rose ordered and in spite of everything that had just happened, I had to smile. My Roza was loud and outspoken and never did anything predictable or rational...and I wouldn't want her any other way.

"Really Rosemarie I thought that you were smarter than this, but I guess that I really shouldn't have," Tasha said letting out an exaggerated breath. I clenched my fist at her attack on my Roza, but I kept my silence...for now.

"Very well since you seem to be having trouble understanding what's right in front of you, I will spell it out for you," she said before talking really slowly, like Rose was stupid. My list of reasons for killing Tasha was growing by the second.

"Hans is my spy. He's always been, In fact he's the one that helped me escape prison in the first place. Didn't you?" Tasha said with a smile as she looked back at Hans.

Well I can't say that I was surprised by that. It had always bothered me, how easily Tasha had managed to break out of her prison. And it was easy. Court didn't hold that many prisoners. Because of the low Moroi population rate, and the standards to which most Moroi were raised (like they were better than everybody else) most Moroi either followed the rules or were royal enough to buy their way out of trouble. As a result, Court only held the most high leveled prisoners and left the rest of the Moroi out in the human world supervised by the Alchemists in a prison solely for the Moroi.

For Tasha to escape at all was extraordinary, but not impossible as Rose had demonstrated when she and the others busted Victor Dashkov out of prison. But for Tasha to do it alone and without any weapons besides her fire magic, which now that I think about it should have been far more limited due to the lack of blood that she was allowed, should have been impossible. Just another one of the ways that Hans had helped her I guess.

"Yes." I heard Hans say from below me as I zoned back into the conversation.

"I gave the guards on shift faulty glasses that were weaker than the others. Once Tasha turned on her compulsion she was able to make them take the glasses off completely and break out of her cell. I made the guard change at that time so there was less guards than there should have been so she could get out faster. I told her where a car would be easy to acquire and she was off."

Hans said confirming what I had just thought. I knew that something had to be up with Hans long ago, even before this I had been having my suspicions.

Nothing that he had done ever since Tasha had escaped had been right. First there was the lack of pursuit when Tasha first escaped, then after she had turned Strigoi and become a real problem, Hans didn't send out a strike force after her even though we had more than enough Guardians to make servile now that there were no more Strigoi to deal with. But he dragged his feet instead of nipping it in the butt when it was just Tasha out there.

Then when the tapes started showing up how he never even thought of planting surveillance and figuring out who was delivering them and how. And even though I would have fought against it, he never sent Rose out of Court to draw Tasha out, he just kept things the way they were and let Tasha get more and more people on her side. And holding meeting after pointless meeting instead of doing anything useful. And not even bothering to try and find the spy to stop them from leaking information to Tasha! (Though in hindsight that makes more sense now). Not to mention how long it took him to wipe out the mine swarm. And he wasn't even fully successful!

Yes, Hans being the traitor make more sense by the minute. But that didn't make me like it in the least.

"And that's not all!" Tasha continued on, far too happy about all of this. "Hans knew about the underground tunnels all along! In fact he was the one that deleted them from the archives in the first place! And then once they were discovered, he still hid exactly how big they were so that I could launch my final assault here today!"

Hans was behind that too! Thats it! I don't care that he's a Dhampir and out ranks me by a long shot. When all of this is over, I'm staking him myself!

"Really I don't know how I could have don't it without Hans. He has been such a good spy. He was also good enough to keep me up to date on everything that has been going on back at Court! It was so easy to stay one step ahead of everyone when the Head Guardian was feeding me every bit of information that passed through his hands. And believe me, quite a lot of things do."

_All the better to undermine you and attack Court right from under you and steal the love of your life from you my dear, _I thought sarcastically. Rose was really running off on me.

"Why?" I heard Roza ask in a choked whispered and I felt her pain. Betrayal was never an easy pill to swallow, but it hurt all the more when you liked and respected the person that did the betraying.

"Because he had no choice," Tasha said happily. She had never been this happy when I had known her, it made me wonder if she had always had this evil strike to her that I had never known about.

"You see I can be very persuasive."

_What was that supposed to mean?!_

"What did I tell you about making sense!" Rose yelled and I smiled.

Tasha laughed again before continuing. "Aaaaaw poor Rosemarie getting lost again. It really is a miracle that you graduated school at all. But then again I guess that's all because of Dimka and his training. I guess he's just so good that he can make a good fighter out of anyone. Even a little blood whore like you."

_WHY DOSE EVERYONE KEEP CALLING ROSE THAT!? Just because she is incredibly sexy and has a wicked sense of humour, everyone automatically assumed that she's a slut that would willingly let a Moroi drink from her during sex! She's not a blood whore and never will be one! _

"Quit thinking about my fiancée naked when I'm standing right here!" Rose said flashing her ring at Tasha.

_That a girl! _

"He is but a man, and prone to making stupid decisions when woman with loose morals are involved," Tasha said casually like it was a well known fact.

This time I actually growled and clenched my stake. It wasn't time to attack yet but if Tasha kept saying things like that I was just going to drop out of here and finish her off myself!

"Well it must not affect him as much as you thought because he turned down your offer more than once!" Rose said and Tasha froze.

_HA good one Roza! _

"Can we please get back on topic here ladies," Christian said not sounding happy about the current conversation that was going on around him. "Because I'm far more interested in how and why Hans suddenly decided to betray us than in who deserves Belikov more!"

_Thank you Christian! If these kept up much longer I was going to end up having as big a head as Roza! _

"Oh yes silly me, now where was I?" Tasha said with her smile back in place as she lifted a finger to her lip and put on a fake thoughtful face.

"Aaah yes now I remember. I was telling you how I could be very persuasive. Because Hans might be my spy, but he's not a traitor. Because as far as he's aware, he hasn't don't anything wrong!"

"What?" Rose asked at the same time that I thought it.

"Well I've been in prison here for what, two years? And in that time I've spent quite a bit of quality time with Hans here," Tasha said, patting Hans's cheek like he was a good pet. "You see compulsion used over a long time and in a certain way can have a very interesting affect on the body. So over the last two years for a little bit every day, I've been in planing instructions into Hans's mind, over and over again. Until the compulsion went so deep that he couldn't tell my compulsion from his own thoughts."

_What? Did that mean that Hans didn't want to be the traitor but Tasha had made him one against his will by planting the thought into his head? Was that possible? _

"But how is that possible?" Rose asked echoing my thought. "He had his glasses on the whole time! All of the Guardians had to wear them!"

Tasha just shrugged her shoulders. "Accidents happen. Glasses slip if you sweat or sneeze. It only took once and BAM!

"But instead of trying to make him let me out then I bided my time, planting thoughts into his head so that when I did escape I would have help to make sure that my plans succeeded."

"And what command was that?" Rose asked, but we both knew what was coming.

"I implanted in his mind that when the time came and I escaped, that he was to do everything in his power to help me without revealing himself. That he was to give me any and all information that could hinder my plans and that every dream that I had would become a reality," Tasha said satisfaction in her voice.

_So Hans was going to help her, but did he want to? Or was he forced too? _

"Hay! Wait a minute, what do you men by 'he's the spy, but he's not a traitor.' How does that work?" Lissa asked and I was glad. I didn't want to kill the wrong person when the attack started.

"AAAA," Tasha said looking pleased that Lissa had brought that up. "Because Hans is under such deep compulsion he doesn't even realize that he's doing what he's doing. Every time that he reported anything to me, or did something to slow you down, he did it on a sort of auto pilot. Not even realizing that he had done it afterwards. That's what made my plan so genius!" she laughed. "Because even taking a polygraph or under compulsion, he would never be picked out as the traitor! It was fool proof," she said with a smile. "Yes, my spy head Guardian Hans. Code name Talking Llama."

_Code name talking llama! I knew that that skater punk that broke my phone was working for someone! He was probably in league with Tasha the entire time! I never did like that Damn llama! Forget Hans, when all of this was over, I was going to shave that llama and make a new duster out of it's fur!_

But just before I could make good on thet threat, or even make my grand entrance, the front door exploded open and in came a group of both Strigoi and Guardians. Well this was going to be fun!

**Sorry for being absent of so long:(I'll try not to make a habit out of it:) **

**SOOOO what's Dimitri going to do about Tasha? **

**Who is attacking them? **

**And HANS IS THE TALKING LLAMA! Who saw that one coming?! **

**Well ill I guess that there's noting else lift to say other then REVIEW! Please:)**


	29. Chapter 29

**I'm terrible, horrible, despicable, a blond! And any other name you can think of to call me! and I'm sorry! I'm sorry that I left you hanging! But this is an extra long chapter so I hope that you can forgive me:) **

From: UPDATEEEEEEEEEEEE

UPPPPPPPDDDDDAAAAATTTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!OR I SHALL KILL YOU IN UR SLEEP

**Well better late then never right? And if you kill me you will never know the end to the story;)**

DauntlessTrin

Hahahahaha this is funny because I just shaved the bottom of my head. Maybe my name has been Hans all along. lol NO. I am Trinity, queen of the skater punks and talking llamas. Ruler of the world of emos. I like that title. Dimitri is going to jump and land on top of Tasha and wipe her dumb makeup off to prove that she is not actually a strigoi. It would be cool if the people "attacking" them were Adrian and Sydney, and Sam and a bunch of his vegetarian strigoi friends. I refuse to answer the last question  
Toodles （ｙ）  
P.S.  
You didn't update at 1 in the morning this time! It is only 10 pm in California. If you updated early in the morning I wouldn't be able to read these chapters because my school started. UGH. I'm already being bullied. (_)

**I fell your pain...:( so this chapter is for you!:) **

Romitri

HAAAA! *Laughs*  
I knew the spy was Hans! My suspisions were correct! *Tarzan call and dance*

PLEASSSEEEEEE UPLOAD SOOONNNNNNNNNNN!

I started reading the prev story today and have been reading ever since... (Non-Stop) ;) ;)

U got me hooked! :D

**I wish i had Dimitri *drools and licks the screen***

**Yeah he is yummy;) **

The-cat-with-blue-eyes

I was quoted in the review on top of the chapter! Yeah! Life is complete! :D :D  
I knew it wasn't Hans but it was that damn llama! Ok they are technically the same person but still!  
Dimitri is going to be awesome and kick Tasha's butt as always because he is Dimitri :D

**Well I hope that this also makes your day...or night or whatever:) **

ambourgonje

Hi I love your stories. I started with ice princess last week. And have worked my way through just like old times, and blast from the past. I vowed to myself I would not read a stories of yours that is not finished, because of jour clifhangers. but i broke my promise with back to the future. So reward me with a quick update?

I knew it was Hans since the attack on the main swarm. Dimitri commented on the fact that he was surprised that Hans would rely on the tech Sydney made instead of his usual old school methods. Also the half of the conversation that they overheard. "thats why he is earning the big bucks" clearly was a reference to Hans. Also I knew he had to be complelled somehow. Because you would not make him evil. you could just not be so cruel.

I like what you did with Sam. I am a neurobiologist and have had a lot of dealings people with ASD. Both in a professional sence as well as personal and some things are spot on. (some a little less ;)) I do think the rigid mind of a person with ASD would shine through as they turn strigoi. interesting concept.

**Ok first let me just say HAY! If you have read all of my story's then WERE ARE MY REVIEWS! **

**And secondly WOW! I think that you might be the most qualified person to ever read my story! I'm so happy that you liked it. But I must admit that I cheated a bit...you see I have autism and that's how I manage to get Sam right. I know not everything was spot on, but I like to think that I did a good job of it:) **

VAGypsy

OMG...OMG...*removes hands from eyes* OMG NOOOOooooooooooo!  
what the...i mean... *runs to hide in Llama fur in nonacceptance*

**Ok that's it for now. Disclaimer...you've waited long enough already.**

_Codename Talking Llama! I knew that that skater punk that broke my phone was working for someone! He was probably in league with Tasha the entire time! I never did like that damn llama! Forget Hans, when all of this was over, I was going to shave that llama and make a new duster out of it's fur!_

_But just before I could make good on thet threat, or even make my grand entrance, the front door exploded open and in came a group of both Strigoi and guardians. Well this was going to be fun!_

RPOV

_My life seriously can't be this complicated!_ I thought to myself as I spun around to see who else could possibly show up and somehow make this mess even more confusing, while I turn around and see, no other but Sam busting in with a bunch of other Strigoi and Guardians that he seemed to be fighting along side- which was a bit strange. But what was stranger was that Ivan was with him! And not only that, he was actually fighting! I knew that as a Strigoi he hadn't minded getting his hands dirty, or bloody as the case may be. But I never thought that his knowledge of fighting would stick with him.

And along side him was Eddie, Mikhail, all of the Dhampirs that Dimitri had told me about in his team. (Though I had never met any if them personally, it was hard to mistake Nick's teasing smile and Leo's excitement about the fight to come) ... and last of all...my mum and dad! Ugh I so did not need this to turn into a family reunion!

_And if they were all here, and Hans was here, then where was Dimitri!_ I thought panicking. Surely if everyone else was here then the attack hadn't been a total loss, and Dimitri was better than half of them! He was just fine...I hoped.

Once everyone was in the room, they all kind of paused mid fight and took in their surroundings, all of the Strigoi stopping to look at Tasha as if waiting for further instructions, and all the Guardians wondering why the ring of other guardians surrounding Lissa and Christian didn't have their stakes raised. And then there was a bit of awkward silence when no one knew what to do.

But that didn't seem to stop Sam from blurting out.

"Sounds like someone's having a party in here," he said with a cheeky grin, then with an excited look added, "Is there chocolate?"

I couldn't help but laugh at that, trust Sam to make even a life and death battle sweet and innocent somehow.

But I turned back around when I heard Tasha's delighted laughter. Except I had the feeling that she wasn't laughing because of what Sam said.

"Oh what fun! And here I was worrying about not having a big enough audience for my moment of glory! But it seems like my new subjects are just lining up waiting for the chance to see me!" Tasha said and laughed again. I really think that she has well and truly gone off the deep end this time.

"Yeah sure just keep telling yourself that," I said looking over the new comers.

"Ok so no party," Sam said looking slightly disappointed that there wasn't going to be any chocolate (not that he could eat it anyway) and looked around.

"Hey, isn't he supposed to be on our side?" Sam asked pointing to Hans.

"Long story," I said rubbing the side of my head to stop the headache that I could feel building. "Just don't throw him your stake if he asked you to, he might just stab you in the back with it in his current frame of mind."

"Are you alright little girl?" my Dad asked not caring at all that I just called our Head Guardian a traitor to his face. Naaah my dad was too busy looking murderously at Tasha for anything else to matter. My mum was shocked to say the least, but hid it well and stayed silent. But was looking around like every Strigoi in the room was just waiting for the chance to jump her and the others. (which they probably were). I knew that she had to be hating the fact that there were two Moroi fighting along side her, and that this was now endangering the Queen, I wasn't too thrilled about that either to tell the truth. But it's not like we planned it to go this way!

"I'm fine dad, haven't even thrown a punch yet," I said putting my hands on my hips in a casual pose as I desperately tried to think of my next move. We were more or less even in numbers now but I still wasn't happy with this latest break through. Was Hans Tasha's only traitor? Or did she have other time bombs just waiting to be set off?

"Rose Hathaway not throwing a punch in the middle of a fight? Ha I'll believe that when I see it!" Eddie said with a smile, knowing what I was doing and playing along.

"Aaa you know, I like to play things out, see who would benefit most from my supreme awesomeness," I said with a smile and then turned to look at Ivan. The others I was expecting at some point, but not him.

"Ivan, it's nice to see you back in the game, I was wondering if married life had made you soft," I said as I slightly turned to get a batter look around me. Tasha had a few Strigoi around her, and there were a few around the room. But for the most part they were in front of me along with the Guardian reinforcements. All in all, not to bad.

"Well you know, I didn't want people to think that I lost my touch just because I wasn't a Strigoi anymore. You know I used to be quite a good fighter before I was turned, ask Dimka! He'll back me up," Ivan said looking confused that we were all making small talk in the middle of all of this but knowing better than to point it out and played along.

But I still had my suspicions about him. Dimitri had confided in me about how Ivan had been acting a little strange before he had left to find me, and though I had only been back for a short while I noticed something off about him too. But he was on our side for now and that was all that mattered.

"Well, now all were missing is Adrian and Sydney and we'd have a real party happening here," I said, hoping that they both had good enough sense to keep out of this! Not to mention Violet, I'm sure that she has had enough of Strigoi for the rest of her lifetime.

"Oh don't worry, I plan on making sure that all of your old acquaintances are met with a warm welcome," Tasha said apparently having enough of being left out of the conversation and bringing it back to her.

All of the Strigoi around us were getting on edge and looked like they were just about to attack, all it would take was one spark and we would have a full blown fight on our hands.

Just then a talking llama fell from the sky and landed in front of us...

Oops! That was Dimitri! Wow, if he ever finds out that I mistook him for a talking llama then I will never hear the end of it! Shhhhh don't tell!

Dimitri landed on his feet with his stake raised and looked around like someone was going to jump him...and in this crowd he wasn't to far off. I felt instant relief at his arrival and had to fight every instinct in my body not to run straight into his arms and kiss him until we were both breathless I was so glad that he was alive and unhurt. Stupid hormones.

_And how the hell had he gotten up there?_ I wondered as I looked up at the small ventilation shaft that he must have crawled through to get here. Copy cat.

His eyes searched around the room taking in his surroundings before finally landing on me.

"Aaah Dimka! So nice of to show up! You made better time than I thought you would. Did you like my little surprise?" Tasha asked with an evil smirk.

Dimitri glanced her way for a second with his guardian mask up but anger leaked through. What happened while he was gone?

"Are you alright Roza?" he asked looking back to me his face and voice staying in guardian mode, but I would have to be blind not to see the love and worry in his eyes.

"Just peachy Comrade, nice entrance by the way, I give you an A+ in dramatic timing," I said with a cheeky smile. But then asked with a more serious tone. "What surprise?" I asked in a low voice not liking where this was going.

"I'll tell you later," he muttered to me before answering Tasha.

"It was original I'll give you that, but I've seen better special effects in Star Wars movies," Dimitri said not missing a beat.

"True it wasn't my best deception I'll admit, but under the circumstances and the time limit that I was under, I still think I deserve a pat on the back. I mean it's not every soon to be world leader that can change her whole plan in the blink of an eye and still come out on top," Tasha said in a sultry voice and I didn't miss the double meaning.

"Well sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but none of your plans are going to work and you're sure as hell not going to "come out on top" so why don't you just give up now and Lissa MIGHT be in a good enough mode to restore you if you ask really nicely before you get locked back in prison where you belong for the rest of your life!" I said mad as hell that she was still hitting on my man when I was right here!

"Sorry blood whore but that's not going to happen. You see, after all of this is over Dimka, will realize what he gave up when I asked him to be with me last time and he will forget all about you and beg me to take him back," she said looking at me like I was beneath dirt and not worthy to be in her presence.

"Don't talk about Roza like that! And I'm not sorry that I turned you down at all! It was the best decision that I could have made, because if I had said yes then I never would have had a chance to start a life with Roza!" Dimitri said moving into a protective stance in front of me. Normally I would have scoffed at that and stood beside him in a fighting stance of my own. But considering my current condition I think that a little bit of extra protection might be a good idea.

"Yes yes I understand that you think that you made the right decision back then, but now you realize that you were wrong. But I forgive you for having a fling with the little school girl! At least it's out of your system now and we can all move past that! And soon all of our dreams will come true and we can finally be together and rule the world as king and queen!" Tasha said with a look that I can only describe as part sick love and part obsession with Dimitri. I think that she really does love him in her own twisted way, which just makes me feel sad for her. Again DAMN hormones!

Dimitri looked a mix between sad and sick as well. "Y...you did all of this, just to be with me?" he asked looking afraid to hear the answer.

Tasha beamed at him, like he was finally catching onto what was happening and that it just made her day. "Yes! I did it all for that, I did it for us! And who knows, maybe we can still have children together! And if we can't, then I'm sure that there will be some orphans wondering around after I finish seizing Court, we can always adopt," Tasha said with a far off look, like she was imagining her future with Dimitri and liking what she saw.

"I'm sorry Tasha," Dimitri said sounding disappointed in her, but also harsh, like he was hitting her with the words. I guess that he was as sick of Tasha messing with our lives as I was. "But we're not going to be together, we never were. I don't love you, I never did. I love Rose and nothing that you can do will ever change that. I don't know how many different ways that I can explain it to you but you need to get it through your thick reinforced Strigoi skull! I DONT WANT TO BE WITH YOU! Not in any way! So move on and get help!"

Tasha's face crinkled, like she was a child being told that she had done something wrong that she didn't understand.

"Wh...what do you mean we will never be together? Why not! I've given you everything! I've offered you marriage, children, power to change and rule the world! I even killed that no good father of yours because I knew how badly he treated you and your family! I was going to let them all come and live with us in the palace! They could have been treated like royalty! I've given you everything! How can you say that you don't want to be with me after everything I've done for you!" Tasha was screaming by the end, a truly outrageous look in her eyes and she was really loosing it now, and I was worried for our lives. When someone gets that mad, nothing good can ever come of it.

Dimitri face softened and he looked truly sad at what his friend had become. "I never wanted any of those things Tasha. It's nice that you wanted to give them to me, and I'm happy to have such a loyal friend. But you can't control love, you can't just say that you've given me the most so that means that I have to love you. It just doesn't work like that. I'm sorry."

And then I saw in in her face, she snapped. "You're going to give up being a king, ruling alongside me, having everything that you could ever want at your fingertips! You're giving it all up for some knocked up blood whore that is carrying who knows who's bastard child?!" Tasha screamed out before literally letting loose an ear piercing shriek that had everyone in the room covering their ears.

"KILL THEM ALL!"

And now for the fight scene!

Just then the room erupted in fighting and screams. A flood of Strigoi that had been lying in wait poured out of the tunnels and flanked Tasha on both sides before running out and attacking the first Guardian that they saw. I gripped my stake tightly and moved forward to give Dimitri one quick hard kiss that told him that I loved him and to be safe before I went back to back with him and got in to a fighting stance just like I had done a hundred times before and was ready to fight.

I looked over to make sure that Lissa was safe and noticed with relief that the Guardians surrounding her and Christian had apparently decided that it wasn't worth doing nothing and hoped that Hans wouldn't follow through on his compulsion induced threat to hurt their loved ones and were fighting every Strigoi that came their way.

I looked back in front of me just in time to stake a newly made Strigoi that didn't know better than to get near me when I was armed. I had to be more careful, I told myself as I focused in the fight happening in front of me. After all, I was fighting for two now.

Dimitri apparently noticed what the other Guardians were doing and slowly moved us as we fought over to the big defensive circle that the Guardians had formed. We were highly outnumbered and it was easier to defend ourselves when we didn't have to watch our backs.

I heard a grunt of pain that had my heart racing as I looked over and saw my father double over in pain from a Strigoi punch. I was about to run over to him and stake the crap out of the Strigoi that had done that...but my mother beat me to it. She was in front of Abe in a heart beat and killing the Strigoi and covering Dad from any other threats at the same time. My dad then turned around as another Strigoi that was coming at my mum when she was distracted and hit him over the head with a stake and moved to the side while my mum staked him to finish him off.

Wow, I never knew that they were such a good team.

I went back to my own fight and for the next...I don't know how long, just focused on staking and killing Strigoi. I was in auto pilot and was cutting through them at a nice pace if I do say so myself. But there were still so many of them left that it shocked me and took me a moment to realize that Tasha had signaled them to stop.

I looked at her in bewilderment until I realized what she was going to do. Gloat.

"Dimka, you and your friends have fought well, and I understand that you might be a little shocked at all of the changes that are happening to you, so I'm going to give you a second chance to be with me," Tasha said in a sugary sweet voice, like she was a loving faerie godmother that was going to make everything better.

"If you surrender to me right now then I will spear all of your friends here. I'll even let the blood whore live, you can visit her and her bastard child in a pretty little cell that I will make nice and cosy for them. You can see them once a week for a few hours if you keep in my good favour. None of your friends have to die, this doesn't have to end in blood shed. Decide now Dimka, and make the right choice. Otherwise I will just kill them all now and compel you to be with me," Tasha said finishing in a cold Strigoi voice that I knew so well.

I looked to Dimitri. He was deep in thought, probably trying to find a way to save everybody that didn't involve us being a source of food and him being married off to Tasha. He looked over to me and I could see that he was desperate to find a way to save me and our child. Agreeing to Tasha's demands may keep us alive, but wouldn't give us anything close to a life.

He was in agony, and I honestly thought that he was going to agree just to save me.

"No," I whispered. I couldn't let him go through with this, not only would it be a pathetic excuse for living, but Tasha would be the new queen of our world!

"I can't let you die," he barely managed to croak out past the pain I could see in his eyes.

"If Tasha wins then we will all die anyway," I whispered back, if we didn't fight then not only would Tasha be the queen of our world, but the Strigoi would soon take over the human world and there would be nothing to stop them. We had to fight, it was the only way.

And he knew it.

He looked back to Tasha with sadness and determination in his eyes. "No Tasha, we won't surrender, if we're all that stands between you taking over the world then we will fight to the last man and woman to stop you."

He said strongly as he grabbed my hand. I knew that he was willing to do almost anything to save me and our child, even give up his own freedom. But if we didn't stop Tasha now then there would be nowhere in the world that our child could be safe.

"No. NO! This is your last chance! Surrender or they all die!" Tasha shrieked at the top of her lungs.

"We're going to fight and we're going to win!" Dimitri said strongly not moving an inch.

Tasha was almost shaking with rage at this point and her movements were jerky as she pointed a finger at us.

"KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!" she shouted and we all prepared ourselves for the fight of our lives...

Or we would have, if we weren't all watching in shock and amazement as in the next second Hans had grabbed a still shaking with rage Tasha by her shoulder, spun her around and shoved his stake into her heart.

"Long live the queen bitch!" I heard him say as the light went out of Tasha's eyes and she sunk to the floor.

Hans POV

I stood in the tunnel underneath Court waiting. I had half of my men with me and Dimitri had the other half. Once we were both in position, we would strike and put an end to all of this right now.

I was a soldier and loyal to the bone, always following my orders and living up to my superiors' expectations. And now was no different. I would fight, and I would win and I wasn't going to let anyone stop that from happening.

I crept up closer to the mouth of the tunnel so that I could hear the conversation that was going on, waiting for the right moment to strike.

"Yeah sounds like a blast," I heard Guardian Hathaway say with sarcasm. _Does that girl have any other setting besides sarcasm and smart mouth?_ I wondered with a slight grin. Oh well, if that's the price of having a Guardian as skilled and deadly as her then I would happily pay it ten times over.

"_Hey you know that the silver things in your hands aren't just fashion accessories right? Why aren't you attacking the crazy Strigoi hell bent on world domination?" _

Hathaway asked and I froze, something wasn't right here.

"_Because if they kill me there will be no one left to call of the attack,"_ Tasha said.

And then just like that a glassy film came over my eyes. Suddenly the mission no longer mattered. My loyalty to the Queen and Court no longer mattered. The only thing that mattered right now was doing my mistress's bidding.

"_Well that's still no reason to let you just stand there looking bitchy, attack her and make her stop the attack!" _I heard Guardian Hathaway shouting in the distance.

Almost time. My mistress was very clear about when she wanted me to reveal myself in her mastermind plan.

"_Come on what's with you? Why aren't you attacking!?"_ she asked again sounding frustrated and confused.

Now!

"They're not attacking because they know that if they attack, I will kill the person that's most dear to them," I said finally walking completely out of the tunnel and walking over to stand next to my mistress.

"No," I heard guardian Hathaway say but it was in the distance. Everything was in the distance. It was like I was surrounded in fog and couldn't see more than a few feet in front of me.

"What the hell!?" I heard Guardian Hathaway say before the Queen shouted something. This kept on for some time; Guardian Hathaway kept saying things that I knew that I related with, that I knew were important deep down somewhere but somehow couldn't find.

"Oh you would be surprised at what he's now capable of," my mistress said. I could hear her very clearly, I had to incase she had orders that I had to follow out.

"Really Rosemarie I thought that you were smarter than this, but I guess that I really shouldn't have. Hans is my spy. He's always been. In fact he's the one that helped me escape prison in the first place. Didn't you?" My mistress said smiling at me and my heart rate sped up, she was praising my work. I had pleased her!

"Yes. I gave the guards on shift faulty glasses that were weaker than the others. Once Tasha turned on her compulsion, she was able to make them take the glasses off completely and break out of her cell. I made the guard change at that time so there was less guards than there should have been so she could get out faster. I told her where a car would be easy to acquire and she was off," I said explaining everything that I had done.

"And that's not all!" My mistress said as she went further into detail about how I had served her with hiding the tunnels.

"Really I don't know how I could have done it without Hans. He has been such a good spy. He was also good enough to keep me up to date on everything that has been going on back at Court! It was so easy to stay one step ahead of everyone when the Head Guardian was feeding me every bit of information that passed through his hands. And believe me, quite a lot of things do."

_YES. I had done well. I had completed my mission. My mistress was pleased with me, _I thought with satisfaction. But made sure to keep my Guardian mask up, I was a professional after all. Now that I had succeeded in doing my job, I felt myself relax in the slightest bit. Like a heavy burden was being lifted off of my shoulders. And oddly enough like my head was clearing...

"Why?" I was asked, but it was by Hathaway and not my mistress so I didn't bother answering.

"Because he had no choice. You see I can be very persuasive," my mistress said.

_What? Of course I had a choice. I chose to serve my mistress with my full ability, she didn't persuade me...had she?_ But apparently my mistress wasn't done speaking yet. I quickly started listening in case she wanted me to explain anything else.

"-aah yes now I remember. I was telling you how I could be very persuasive. Because Hans might be my spy, but he's not a traitor. Because as far as he's aware, he hasn't don't anything wrong!"

_WHAT?! Traitor? How could I be a traitor? I had done everything that my mistress had asked for me! I always had! Ever since...huh when had I sworn my loyalty to her? _

"Well I've been in prison here for what, two years? And in that time I've spent quite a bit of quality time with Hans here," Tasha said patting my cheek affectionately.

I didn't move. I couldn't. If what I thought had happened had really happened then not only was I the spy and the traitor that everyone bad been looking for, but I was the biggest traitor of our entire race!

"- see compulsion used over a long time and in a certain way can have a very interesting effect on the body. So over the last two years for a little bit every day, I've been implanting instructions into Hans's mind, over and over again. Until the compulsion went so deep that he couldn't tell my compulsion from his own thoughts."

_WHAT! I've been under compulsion for two years! This was even worse then I had thought! How had I never noticed that! I tried to shake my head but found that I couldn't move my body properly. When had it started seeming like a good idea to give my loyalty and service to a prisoner?! And how come no one else had ever noticed before it! _

I started listening again as my misst- as Tasha explained everything that I had done for her, every way that I had undermined and betrayed my people and the Court that I had swarm to protect with my entire life. Everything was getting fuzzy again. And it was getting hard to focus. All I could think about was that I had been nothing but a mindless puppet for the last two years.

And as I thought that, I started remembering! Remembering all the times that I had given Tasha classified information, all the ways that I had weakened our defences so that Tasha could escape when she wanted. All the times that I contacted her and given her our plans so that she could work around them. How I had sabotaged the Strigoi tracker and let the minor swarm go free...everything.

"Yes, my spy Head Guardian Hans. Codename Talking Llama," Tasha said with a smirk and I froze.

_And that just added insult to injury! _I thought in a voice that sounded surprisingly like Guardian Hathaway's...when suddenly the doors of the Thrown room exploded open and in came more Guardians and Strigoi.

_Bring it on!_ I thought not caring anymore. There's no way that this could possibly get any worse. And from that moment on, it was like I was lost again. I saw everything that was happening in front of me, but it was like it was happening on TV and I couldn't do anything to stop it.

"Sounds like someone's having a party in here. Is there chocolate?_"_ said Sam. Well at least Tasha hadn't killed him yet for helping us.

"Hey, isn't he supposed to be in our side?"

"Long story. Just don't throw him your stake if he asks you to, he might just stab you in the back with it in his current frame if mind."

"Rose Hathaway not throwing a punch in the middle of a fight? Ha I'll believe that when I see it!"

"Well you know, I didn't want people to think that I lost my touch just because I wasn't a Strigoi anymore. You know I used to be quite a good fighter before I was turned, ask Dimka! He'll back me up."

And as if Ivan's words had summoned him Dimitri fell from the roof and landed in front of us.

I thought that I had fixed that security flaw...

"Aaah Dimka! So nice of you to show up! You made better time then I thought you would. Did you like my little surprise?" Tasha asked with smirk. I was waking up a bit more and starting to understand what had happened and what was happening around me.

"Just peachy Comrade, nice entrance by the way, I give you an A+ in dramatic timing. What surprise?" I heard Guardian Hathaway ask and my mind flashed back to the holograms that had been set up for us. I actually hadn't been told about that one, it must have been a last minute change of plans from when I told Tasha about Rose coming back to Court and being pregnant.

"It was original I'll give you that, but I've seen better special effects in Star Wars movies."

"True it wasn't my best deception I'll admit, but under the circumstances and the time limit that I was under, I still think I deserve a pat on the back, I mean it's not every soon to be world leader that can change her whole plan in the blink of an eye and still come out on top," Tasha said in a sultry voice and even I could hear the double meaning. Guardian Hathaway was NOT going to like that...

"Well sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but none of your plans are going to work and you're sure as hell not going to "come out on top" so why don't you just give up now and Lissa MIGHT be in a good enough mood to restore you if you ask really nicely before you get locked back in prison where you belong for the rest of your life!"_Saw that one coming..._

"Sorry blood whore but that's not going to happen. You see after all of this is over Dimka will realize what he gave up when I asked him to be with me last time and he will forget all about you and beg me to take him back."

"Don't talk about Roza like that!"

And on it went! Honestly when I took over being Head Guardian the last thing that I thought that I would have to deal with would be lovers quarrels! But then again not many people are as crazy as Tasha. I listened as she went into vivid detail about what she had done and how everything was going to be perfect after she took over our world. I guess we all underestimated exactly how obsessed she was with Dimitri.

"Y...you did all of this, just to be with me?" he asked looking afraid to hear the answer.

Tasha beamed at him, and that was a look that you really didn't want to get from a Strigoi. "Yes! I did it all for that, I did it for us! And who knows, maybe we can still have children together! And if we can't then I'm sure that there will be some orphans wondering around after I finish seizing court, we can always adopt," Tasha said waving her hand as if she wasn't going to be the one that was causing all of those orphans to lose their parents.

"I'm sorry Tasha, but we're not going to be together, we never were. I don't love you, I never did. I love Rose and nothing that you can do will ever change that. I don't know how many different way that I can explain it to you but you need to get it through your thick reinforced Strigoi skull! I DONT WANT TO BE WITH YOU! Not in any way! So move on and get help!"

I would have cringed if I had the ability to do so. My mind was slowly clearing but my body still felt like it was tried down by weights. And I really didn't want to be anywhere near Tasha right now, because now that my memory was coming back, and I wasn't thinking of her like my Devine mistress I was remembering exactly how unstable she could be when Guardian Belikov was concerned.

Tasha's face crinkled, and I knew that a break down was about to happen.

"Wh...what do you mean we will never be together? Why not! I've given you everything! I've offered you marriage, children, power to change and rule the world! I even killed that no good father of yours because I knew how badly he treated you and your family! I was going to let them all come and live with us in the palace! They could have been treated like royalty! I've given you everything! How can you say that you don't want to be with me after everything I've done for you!"

_And there's the break down! _

Dimitri face softened a bit and I hoped that he was going to be a bit gentler this time, because Tasha wasn't above setting off more bombs to kill everyone here. Even if that meant killing herself in the process. She was a very firm believer in '_if I can't have him them no one can'. _

"I never wanted any of those things Tasha. It's nice that you wanted to give them to me, and I'm happy to have such a loyal friend. But you can't control love, you can't just say that you've given me the most so that means that I have to love you. It just doesn't work like that. I'm sorry."

And then she snapped. "You're going to give up being a king, ruling alongside me, having everything that you could ever want at your fingertips! You're giving it all up for some knocked up blood whore that is carrying who knows who's bastard child?!" Tasha screamed out before literally letting loose an ear piercing shriek that had everyone in the room covering their ears.

"KILL THEM ALL!"

And all around me fighting started and the Strigoi back up that had been waiting in the tunnels ran out and flanked Tasha on both sides before running out and attacking the first guardian that they saw.

I tried moving, tried pulling myself out of Tasha's controls. I was me again and I waned nothing more then to grab my stake and kill Tasha myself. I could feel the last of her compulsion wearing off. I had completed my mission. I had given her all of the information that I had, I had told her our plans, I had sabotaged Courts plans, I had slowed Court down as much as possible...I had done it all! Everything that Tasha had wanted me to do. So now it was over. I was free, but my body apparently hadn't gotten the message yet.

I looked around and saw that the Guardians were holding their own for now and had started forming a protective circle around the Queen to keep her safe and watch their own backs. I looked at Tasha to see if she had noticed a diffidence in my behavior, but she was so busy looking at Dimitri that she didn't even notice. I was making good progress in my movements and had actually managed to grab my stake. But I couldn't use it just yet. I was only going to get one chance at this so I had to make it count.

But just when I was really getting the hand of moving on my own again Tasha signaled the swarm to stop attacking. I looked at her questioningly until I realized what she has stopped the attack for.

She wanted to give Dimitri another chance to chose her. She may play it off as nothing, but it had really cut her deep that he had chosen Guardian Hathaway over her, and though she certainly wouldn't lose any sleep over doing so, Tasha didn't want to have to compel Guardian Belikov into loving her. She was to prideful. She would do it if she had to. But she wanted him to chose her on his own...or rather chose her out of force.

"Dimka, you and your friends have fought well, and I understand that you might be a little shocked at all of the changes that are happening to you, so I'm going to give you a second chance to be with me," Tasha said in a sugary sweet voice. Huh how had I fallen for that? Blame the compulsion!

"If you surrender to me right now then I will spear all of your friends here. I'll even let the blood whore live, you can visit her and her bastard child in a pretty little cell that I will make nice and cosy for them. You can see them once a week for a few hours if you keep in my good favor. None of your friends have to die, this doesn't have to end in blood shed. Decide now Dimka, and make the right choice. Otherwise I will just kill them all now and compel you to be with me."

This was my chance! She was only focusing on Dimitri! If I could just move quickly enough...

I could hear a mumbled conversation happening between Rose and Dimitri and I just prayed that they kept it going long enough...

Finally Dimitri looked up at Tasha and said strongly. "No Tasha, we won't surrender, if were all that stands between you taking over the world then we will fight to the last man and woman to stop you."

_Good man._

"No. NO! This is your last chance! Surrender or they all die!" Tasha shrieked at the top of her lungs.

"We're going to fight and we're going to win!" Dimitri said strongly, not moving an inch.

Tasha was almost shaking with rage at this point and I knew that I wasn't going to get a better chance. Her control on me was gone and she was so distracted that she didn't even notice.

"KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!" she shirked and I moved! I reached out as fast as possible, grabbed her shoulder and turned her towards me and shoved my stake into her heart.

"Long live the queen bitch!" I said as the light went out of Tasha's eyes and she sunk to the floor.

**Good? Well I hope so:) I was actually going to end it at RPOV but my beta suggested that I add Hans to explain what had just happened and as an apology for disappearing for two weeks!  
**

**One more chapter and it's all finished! So make this a good one and review!:) or just get mad at me for leaving you all hanging for so long...;) **


	30. Chapter 30

**Ok I'm not evan going to try and give you all an excuse as to why I took so long this time. I'm just going to give you the chapter and run!**

effronferran

Yaaaaaaas bitch...yaaaas! Shr dead ive been waiting for that pysho hoe to die...the best chapter evvver! Im drooling for more...omg!

Jannyg92

O O O!  
What?! What?! WHAT?! Noooooooo  
I need to know what happens next! Arrgghhhhhh

The-cat-with-blue-eyes

Wouhoo! Been quoted again :D Now I need to think about what I write :D

Hans final phrase is the best! He truly is a great character! So the talking llama is silent now? I mean he won't talk to Tasha anymore so...

And OMG Rose noooooo! Dimitri is not a talking llama he is a God! Get your facts straight

**Mmmmmm you might just see the talking llama again sooner then you think...**

tsmalibrosa

Update update how could you hurt Hans how could you. I need to know update update or my flying pig will cripple thee. And destroy your talking lama obey the pig

**BRING OT ON! I bet that my talking llama can take your pig any day of the week!**

ypdateir

Update updattttttteeeeeeeee. If you don't I kill you and your talking llama so update now your blonde strigoi Tasha lover. Update I say update.

**How do you people not see the floor in that threat? If you kill me then how will I be able to up date and finish the story?**

**but once again great reviews!**

**And now for the Disclaimer...were did it go?**

_Tasha was almost shaking with rage at this point and I knew that I wasn't going to get a better chance. Her control on me was gone and she was so distracted that she didn't even notice._

_"KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!" she shrieked and I moved! I reached out as fast as possible, grabbed her shoulder and turned her towards me and shoved my stake into her heart. _

_"Long live the queen bitch!" I said as the light went out of Tasha's eyes and she sunk to the floor. _

DPOV

I watched, stunned as Hans staked Tasha right in front of my eyes. As the light went out from her eyes, I felt mixed feelings of relief and regret. Relief that she was finally dead and gone from our lives and that now Roza and our child would finally be safe again. And regret at the loss of a friend. But really she had stopped being my friend long ago, the minute after she shot a bullet at my Roza's heart. This was just the final nail in the coffin of our dead friendship.

"Long live the queen bitch!" Hans said as Tasha sunk to the floor.

There was complete silence after that. No one knew what to do now, even the Strigoi had stopped fighting now that their leader was dead. No one...that is except for my Roza.

"So, does this mean that you're on our side again?" Rose said, hands on hips, voice full of attitude. Man I love that woman!

Hans looked like he might crack a smile when he said, "Yes Guardian Hathaway, it does."

"Good, because we've got enough to deal with right now and I didn't want to add your traitorous ass to the list!" Rose said with her man eater smile before turning around to address the rest of the room.

"Ok listen up people here's what's going to happen," Rose said looking at each person as she addressed them in a tone of voice that would make you think that_ she_ was the Head Guardian if you didn't know any better; it was so full of command and authority.

"Mikhail, get a group of Guardians and sweep Court to make sure that there are no Strigoi lurking around anywhere.

"Jeff, round up the Strigoi here and keep them under control, and try not to kill any of them. Now that we have a fresh sample, Sydney might be able to do something to help them.

"Sam, stand there and try not to look threatening, we don't want anyone to mistake you for the enemy.

"Christian get Lissa out of here. The last thing we need right now is for a Strigoi to get loose and hold her hostage again.

"Eddie, go and hunt down Adrian and Sydney, I'm gonna need them soon. Then go and check Guardian HQ and find out the damage from the attack and how well defended we are.

"Ivan, go and find Violet. We all know that you're not going to be able to think clearly until you know that she's safe.

"And you two," she said finally turning to her parents. "If you don't stop making out in front of me right this instant then I swear I will start doing the same thing with Dimitri and see how you like it!"

"We weren't making out, it was a quick kiss, and nothing compared to what we've had to witness with you in the past," Janine said putting her hands on her hips in the true Hathaway style.

"And it's not like you haven't seen and done a whole lot worse Kiz. I mean you are pregnant, and the last time that I checked there was only one way to do that," Abe said with a cheeky smile.

"Whatever, just quit it and keep an eye on Hans, I don't want to risk him having a relapse and to suddenly think that Tahsa is the real queen bee and decided that he must avenge her death," Rose said rolling her eyes.

"And you!" she finally said looking at me. I waited for her to give me my task, but all she said was,

"Get your sexy ass over here so that I can make sure that you didn't hurt your perfect self," she ordered me in the same tone of voice, but with a smile on her lips. I smiled in return and walked over to her and obediently stood still while she ran her hands over my body making sure that I wasn't too badly hurt. Once she was satisfied that I would live, she lowered her hands and let me do the same to her. But I spent extra time checking her stomach, making sure that our baby didn't get hurt.

"Are you ok little one?" I asked in Russian.

"He's fine Comrade," Rose answered. She really was getting better at her Russian. I stood up and looked down into her beautiful brown eyes.

"He?" I asked confused. We hadn't found out the sex of the baby yet.

Roza beamed at me. "I think it's a boy."

I smiled at that thought. I would love a little girl of course, but I didn't really care what we got, as long as it was happy and healthy and ours.

"And you're sure that HE'S ok? You didn't get hit there or anything? Do you need to go to the doc-"

"I'm fine Comrade, really," she said smiling up at me. Relaxing, I reached out and pulled her into my arms. I was trying to be strong for her, but I couldn't stop the slight shaking that was going through my body. I had been so close, _so close _to losing her today. Her and our child. I haven't been scared many times in my life, and even fewer times in my adult life. Once I had found Roza that number increased somewhat. I thought that I would never be as scared as I was when my Roza was in danger.

I was wrong.

Losing Roza would be unbearable. But loosing both her and our unborn child? Utter agony. If I had lost them there would be no reason for me to go on living.

I pulled away just enough to look into her eyes before lowering myself to give her a soft light kiss that told her more than words could ever say about how much I loved her. I had no idea how long we stayed there like that, just held in our kiss, when I heard a loud and annoyed voice calling out.

"Oh so what's this? We get scolded for a single quick kiss but you're allowed to go at it as long as you like? What's fair about that?" I pulled back and saw a scowling Janine looking over at us. There was a frown on her face, but no true anger in her expression.

"Hey when you're heavily pregnant and you just went through a life and death battle with your fiancée's pyscho ex then you can get away with what you want! And that is NOT an invitation to get her pregnant again old man!" Roza said death glaring Abe who was grinning cheekily. "I don't want any surprise siblings appearing!"

"No promises there Kiz," Abe said with another cheeky grin.

Roza just glared at him again and looked like she was about to reply with a snarky comment, when Ivan ran into the room.

"Violet is fine! She was in her room the entire time," he said with a relived look on his face. It was then that I remembered why I had thought that he was the traitor in the first place. I didn't think that it was him now, but I couldn't take the risk. After all, when Ivan was the enemy, he had had two spies planted in Court, I couldn't take the chance that Tasha hadn't done the same.

"Good to hear," started Rose. "Now why don't you-"

"Tell us why you've been acting strangely ever since you got back from your honeymoon," I said tightening my arms around Roza again. Though I wasn't around when he actually got back, it was a safe bet that whatever was going on was happening long before I got back.

"W...what do you mean?" Ivan asked sounding confused and a bit nervous.

"I mean the secret phone calls that you've been making for who knows how long," I said looking him dead in the eyes. I really needed him to have a good explanation for this. I didn't want Ivan to be involved. I mean no matter what, he was still my best friend, one that I used to be able to tell and trust with anything. And right now, I didn't have many of those left.

But friend or not, if Ivan was somehow involved in any of this, I was going to take him down. Nothing came before my Roza.

"Dimka I...it's not like it sounds! You have to believe me," Ivan said looking panicked.

"If it's not like it sounds then what is it like?" Roza asked crossing her arms and looking intently at Ivan.

"What exactly did you hear?" she then asked me, hating to be left out of anything.

"Just his side of the conversation. But from this end, it sure sounded bad," I said still looking Ivan in the eyes. Something was off about his expression, but I just couldn't pick out what.

"He was acting strangely when he got back too," said Abe out of the blue. "Always talking on the phone and covering up who he was talking to and what he was doing. Being late for our meetings and making up bad excuses about why. I doubt many others would have notice, but I've spent most of my life involved in enough shady business to know suspicious behaviour when I see it," Abe said also eyeballing Ivan.

"If you knew something was up then why didn't you tell anyone?" Janine asked clearly confused by this revelation.

"Because I had the calls traced and didn't think that it had anything to do with Rose. But once I found out about Rose being pregnant I wasn't so sure."

"You traced my calls!" Ivan shouted sounding alarmed.

"Yes, and not only did I trace them, I recorded them. And as luck would have it, I happen the have that last recording here with me on my phone," Abe said with an I win grin that I swear Rose would have picked up from him as a child if he had had any contact with her growing up.

Abe took out his phone and put it on loud speaker for us all to hear.

_"- can't tell anyone,"_ said Ivan's voice as it come out loud and clear from Abe's phone. I immediately recognized it as the conversation that I had over heard before the mission briefing.

_"No that won't work, people will wonder why I'm disappearing all the time and if we're seen in public, people might connect the dots."_

_"No it has to be tonight. Things are getting tense here and we need to move things up." Silence, then, "No, no one suspects anything yet, but I can't keep this hidden for much longer or someone's going to catch on."_

_"Look I can't talk right now, the mission briefing is about to happen. I'll call you again when I know more-"_

And abruptly the call was cut off. Everyone was looking at Ivan with mixed looks of shock, confusion and betrayal.

"I...I can explain," Ivan stuttered out.

"Well we're all listening," said a new voice from over at the doors. "So why don't you tell us all the story." I turned and saw who had just walked in.

_Oh you have to be kidding me!_

RPOV

No, no, no, no, Ivan couldn't be the traitor! After everything that we went through, our time as Strigoi together, and him getting restored, and Violet! It just couldn't be possible!

I turned to look at who had entered the room, still shocked at what was happening...only to be even more shocked and annoyed at who had just walked through the door!

"Oh hell no! Who let you out of your cage?" I asked, once again beyond caring and saying whatever was on my mind. "Or did your two half brains finally merge enough to actually form a real idea and escape?" I asked my voice dripping with sarcasm.

Jesse grinned and even had the nerve to wink at me, while Ralf just looked smug that he had caught us all off guard. But that wasn't the worst part. Yes them showing up really annoyed me. But the worst part was that they won't alone.

No, because behind them was a second large group of Strigoi that seemed intent on listening to those twos' every comand.

Now normally I would just charge in and attack without thought because there was no way that those two bozos knew how to command a swarm of Strigoi. Why were they even following those two anyway? But unfortunately that tactic wasn't going to work this time. Because somehow the swarm had managed to capture Mikhail's small group of Guardians that I had sent out to pick up any stray Strigoi. I had thought that Tasha would use most of her numbers in her attack on Lissa and by extension me, but apparently Tasha had more numbers on her side that I had given her credit for.

So now I was once again forced to small talk to stall for time. Oh well at least I could get some more answers.

"We didn't escape, we were set free. Isn't that right Head Guardian Hans?" Jesse said with a grin in Han's directions. I looked back at him shocked and on guard. I had thought that he was telling the truth about being on our side again. Why else would he have staked Tasha? But was Hans under so much compulsion and two faced enough to betray Tasha and try and take all the power for himself?

Hans looked back at me guiltily. "Yeah. After Tasha first escaped we traded information on her for day passes and some other privileges for those two. But I guess I gave them more than I should have when I was under compulsion." The hunted look in his eyes was all the answer that I needed. He was still on our side.

"So you two were in league with Tasha all along?" I asked not surprised. It was exactly the kind of thing that I would expect of them.

"Yep. Figured that we could strike up a better deal with Tasha than we would ever get with you lot," Ralf said looking proud of himself.

I saw someone move out of the corner of my eye, but kept talking not wanting to give anything away.

"So what are you going to do now that Tasha's dead? I mean you two are way too stupid to be in charge," I said flipping my hair and putting my hands on my hips. A move which emphasized my large stomach. Jesses eyes instantly went to it and a sick, amused look crossed his face.

"Well at least we're smart enough to use protection when we sleep around Rosie. What did your little _Dhampir_ boyfriend have to say when he found out?" Jesses sneered.

"Well he was pretty darn happy about it since it's his!" I said once again catching the movement in the corner of my eye. I just hoped that he knew what he was doing.

"Oh is THAT the lie that you went with? Wow Belikov, I always knew that you had a weak spot for Rose, but to believe that? Man she must give you really good hea-"

"Enough!" Dimitri growled. "Don't you dare talk about Rose like that!"

And then it happened. Quick as a flash, Sam ran in front of the new swarm of Strigoi and held out a can of aerosol deodorant and a cigarette lighter. Before I could say anything, he held the lighter under the can and pressed down on the button.

Instantly a stream of fire was released and all of the Strigoi scrambled away and at the same time all of the captured Guardians bolted.

But unfortunately for the Strigoi, Sam was a mastermind tactician and knew that they would all back up like that. And that was why he had set off one of Tasha's bombs to go off the moment that they were all around it when no one was looking. The explosion shook the ground and all around the Strigoi's feet the floor caved in and they all fell into the tunnels under a pile of rocks. They wouldn't be getting up any time soon after that.

"Sam you're a genius!" I said, while running forward to grab Jesse and Ralf before they realized what had just happened and ran for it.

Everyone else (except the Guardians that were looking after Tasha's original swarm) came around to see what Sam had done with shock and amazement on their faces.

Sam's POV

Today was taking so much longer to finish than most days. First we had to stop Tasha, which should have been easy, but Tasha was being sneaky again and hid from us so we couldn't stop her before she did bad things to the world.

Then we had to come all the way back to Court to stop her, which also took a long time. And now the silly little boys decided to show up (late) and had to make today go on so much longer than it already had to!

And I don't understand why! Didn't they all KNOW that I was waiting to be turned back into a human so that I could eat chocolate again?! Why were they all making this so hard? Didn't they want to eat chocolate too? I was nice! I would have shared!

"How on earth did you think of a plan so quickly?" a Guardian that I didn't know asked. But I'm not sure why. He was a Guardian, he knew that Strigoi hated fire.

But I didn't want to talk to much about it because I wanted chocolate, so I just shrugged my shoulders and said, "I saw this coming." Because it really was obvious that this was going to happen. Why didn't they think of it? Rose was smart, I bet she knew. I'm not sure about the others, though her mate seemed intelligent enough.

But everyone kept looking at me with blank faces. I was confused. Why did they want me to explain everything? It wasn't that hard to understand...

"What? You didn't all see this coming too? It was really obvious," I asked, making sure that I was understanding things properly and that they really did want me to tell them what was going on. I was smart, I really was! But only in some ways. In others, I was bad. And I really didn't understand how people worked sometimes.

"What, you knew that Jesse and Ralf would show up here with reinforcements?" asked the Dhampir that Rose had called Mum. I needed to be nice to that one, she was important to Rose.

"Yes...you didn't?" I asked still not getting how they didn't know.

"Sorry Sam, but we're a little confused. Can you please tell us how you knew that this would happen?" Rose asked really nicely. I guess that I could wait a little bit longer for chocolate if I had to. She was nice to me after all.

"I figured it out ages ago that Jesse and Ralf were going to help Tasha."

"But you didn't even know who they were," said the Guardian that Tasha had made help her. That wasn't nice of her... I would just be extra nice to make up for it!

"Tasha was so confident, which she had a right to be of course." She was smart in a lot of ways too. "Her plan was good. But it was more than that, like she was going to win no matter what. And that meant that she had to have had an ace up her sleeve. Which means that she had a back up plan already set up. And what better time to set it up then when she was trapped in prison for two years with those two," I said going from the beginning so that they would all understand.

"But how did you know that those two would show up at this moment to help Tasha?" asked the Queen...didn't Rose tell her flame thrower mate to take her away? She should listen better.

"I didn't, they were late. But think about it, how did you know about any of Tasha's plans?" I asked wanting them to figure some of it out on their own so that they felt better about themselves later.

"We got Jesse and Ralf to tell us everything that they know," Rose's mate answered.

"Exactly. They told you everything that they know right off the bat. They probably put up some form of resistance at first so that you wouldn't have been suspicious about their easy cooperation.

"But they told you everything, everything that you wanted to know in the beginning. They set you down the right path, but it was the path that Tasha wanted you to be sent down. They helped you in exchange for something correct?"

I asked even though I didn't need to. At the Head Guardian's nod, I continued.

"Well if I was a prisoner then what I would ask for was time out, well and chocolate, but yeah time out. Like day trips and weekends and stuff like that. You lowered their security, which is exactly what Tasha wanted. They did everything that you wanted all in an effort for them to be free and out in time to be the ace up Tasha's sleve in case she needed it," I said finishing, happy that I had helped. I looked around and still saw confusion on some faces. What? Wasn't I clear? Did I go to fast again?

"They were there, hiding in plain sight all along," I said again since they still didn't get it. "What? None of you saw that coming?" I asked again. Why couldn't they understand? Why had no one else been able to follow my line of thought and come to the same conclusion. It made perfect sense.

"Sorry Sam, we didn't see that one coming. So it's a good thing that we had you," Rose said with a smile. I liked her smiles. She didn't do it very much when she was locked up. I hoped that she would let me stay near her after I was better. I wanted to see her happy again.

Right when I was about to ask her if I could, a young Dhampir ran into the room screaming.

"Rose the battle is not over yet! I just checked in with Guardian HQ and..." he trailed off once he looked around and saw the big hole in the ground. I hoped that I wouldn't get in trouble for that. But what else was I supposed to do? We had to stop my, kind of, bothers and sisters from attacking, and I also didn't want to kill them because they didn't understand they they were being bad. But Rose would fix them! She said that she had a friend that could make them all better again.

"What happened in here!? I was only gone for about ten minutes?!" he cried in shock.

"Chill Eddie, everything's ok. Did you find Mia?" Rose asked smiling reassuringly.

"Y...yeah I did. Turns out that she was in the command room coordinating the Guardians from the start of the battle," he said sounding proud of his mate. Rose had told me all about her friends when she was sad and lonely and it had made her happy, so I had always asked lots of questions.

"Good, now back to the topic at hand, what's up with the wired phone calls Ivan?" Rose asked picking up the topic that we had stopped when Jesse and Ralf had interrupted.

"What you don't know that either?" I asked shocked. I thought that they were all just playing a game when they were questioning Ivan about everything.

"You know this too!?" asked the Head Guardian. "When this is all over, I'm making you our Head Tactician and planner in Court," he muttered to himself. I was ok with that. It meant that I would have a home here and that I could be close to Rose. Also I wouldn't be using my brain to hurt people.

"Yeah I know. But I was going to let Ivan tell you. I think he has the right," I said looking back at him like everyone else was doing.

DPOV

I watched and listened to Ivan while holding my breath. I still didn't want to believe that Ivan was the traitor, but with everything that had just happened, I couldn't completely rule it out either. What excuse could he possibly have for the strange way that he had been acting?

Ivan let out a big breath and his shoulders sunk. "Ok, it's going to come out sooner or later, might was well get it over with. I've been sneaking out of meetings and making calls to a very special doctor in Court."

"Doctor! Are you sick?" asked Rose worried, and concerned for him. She knew as well as we all did that Dhampirs don't get sick much, but Moroi did.

And I knew that Rose didn't want Ivan to be the traitor either, not only would it cut my heart in two which Rose definitely didn't want. But she had also grown quite close to him in their time together as Strigoi.

But Ivan just shook his head. "No, it's not me. It's Violet, she's pregnant."

"What! That's wonderful! Why were you hiding it from us?!" Rose cried out overjoyed.

"Because not only is Violet a human and that's still looked down upon and for the most part illegal. But because I used to be a Strigoi. When word gets out, people aren't going to accept this. They will be outrage and demand that tests and experiments get done on Violet and the baby to make sure that it's not somehow a Strigoi. I wanted to protect her from all of that for as long as possible. But we need to get regular check ups with the doctor to make sure that everything is going smoothly."

"But why didn't you tell us? Tell me?" We're your closets friends!" I asked both hurt and relived. This explains everything! Ivan wasn't the traitor and now I wouldn't have to lose another friend.

"I wanted to tell you all, especially you Dimka. But...well for one you weren't here," he said laughing a bit nervously. "But mainly I didn't want to go and flaunt my good news around when you were all so busy finding Rose. I just thought that it would be better for everyone if we just waited for a bit longer, I mean Violet's only three months along and not showing much."

I was about to apologize big time for thinking that he was a traitor and ask for forgiveness, but before I could, Adrian and Sydney barged through the doors. Well this was certainly turning in to quite the reunion.

"We heard that there was a party happening here, so I decided to drop by and become the life of it," Adrian said with his trade mark grin after he looked around the room and decided that Sydney wouldn't be in danger here.

"It's not much of a party, there's no chocolate!" Sam said with a frown and I heard Rose laugh.

"It's about time you two got your butts over here. Where were you?" Rose asked hands on hips like normal.

"Well Adrian for once decided to be the responsible one. Once the fighting started, Adrian actually threw me into a broom closet and locked the two of us inside!" Sydney said not sounding impressed. But Adrain just had a big smirk on his face.

"He wouldn't let me out until he made sure that there were no more Strigoi to jump at me," Sydney continued trying to sound upset, but it was clear how touched she way by Adrian's protectiveness.

"Good to hear. Now get in here I need you," Rose said with a scowl but there was happiness in her voice. But Adrian or course had to take what she said a different way.

He sunk down to his knees and put both of his hands dramatically over his heart and said with too much emotion, "Oh be still my beating heart, it's a dream come true! How long have I waited for you to say those words to me my love?!"

I growled a bit even though I knew he wasn't being serious, and Rose just rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, Sydney I've got a whole group of unwilling Strigoi guinea pigs for you to play with if you're having trouble finding a cure for this batch. Hans reported when he was still the spy that the Strigoi bio weapon wouldn't work this time. But I was actually hoping that since this strand is different that maybe you could make it so that instead of killing them that it actually changes them back into people again. Do you think you could give that a shot?" Rose asked with hope in her voice. And I was once again taken aback by how lucky I was to have this woman for myself.

Who else would feel compassion and pity for the race of blood sucking creatures that had held her captive not once but twice and tortured her non stop for months on end? Only my Roza could have such a big heart.

"That's a great idea Rose! A tricky one though. I didn't have much success with making the Strigoi tracker so I'm not to sure how difference their stand of DNA is from the original batch."

Hans cleared his throat and everyone looked at him. "About that, I sabotaged it so that it wouldn't work. Tasha was worried that you would find her base too soon and she wasn't ready to launch her plan yet. So it will work just fine as long as I don't tamper with it again," Hans added with a shy smile.

"Well there you go! Sydney?" Rose asked in a cheery voice.

"It might take me up to a couple of months. Will Court be patient enough to hold them for that long?" Sydney asked looking at Lissa who still hadn't left yet.

"I'll make sure of it. It wasn't their fault that they're like this after all."

"And as for you!" Rose said addressing Adrian.

"What use do you have for me?" he asked in a seductive voice wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"I made a promise and I intend to keep it. I want you to change Sam back into a human."

**See! No cliff hanger!I can be nice if I want;) and don't think that your safe yet! There still one more chapter coming! And the talking Llama isn't threw with you yet! **

**So, will Roses plan work? **

**Will Sam ever get to eat chocolate again!?**

**And will the talking Llama ever stop story bombing!? **

**Find out when I update next;)**


	31. Chapter 31

**FINALY! I hear you cry! well you are correct, but because of my long departure I have a gift for you all. This is indeed the last chapter:( but there will be an epilogue to follow! **

**Now without further review the funny reviews**

Jannyg92

I freakin love sam! Hes so awesome:)  
I hope he becomes friends with rose's friends...and for the love of god give the man some chocolate already! Hahaha  
UPDATE ASAP!  
please...and...thank you..like..NOW!  
:D

roza-m-belicova

Lol I hope that'd be soon, cause I'm loving this! Only 1 more chapter left? Dam and 2 epilogues, right? But what's next then? Lol I've no rant to give you for once cause you were nice haha. All I can say is this chapter was awesome, every chapter is awesome now that Tasha's dead! Update will you?

**Ha well yes there will be an epilogue. But sadly only one;)**

victoria-lambert-963

Hurry up and update. I just spent my whole bath time reading this and now the water's cold and I'm all wrinkled and pruny. SO HURRY UP AND UPDATE! AND YOU NOW OWE US CHOCOLATE

**Ha I do that to lol. And I'm sorry but I can't actually give you all chocolate:( but I did FINALY give Sam his in this chapter!;)**

The-cat-with-blue-eyes

Sam POV was just the most perfect POV of ALL time!  
Does the talking llama like chocolate? Is that why he is drawn to this story?  
Ahahahahah I had forgotten about Ivan but when they talked about the conversations I was wondering if it wasn't because Violet was pregnant and I was right! I love my brain!

I can't wait for the next chapter.

PS: talking llama if you like chocolate the faster you make her update the bigger amount you will receive ;)

AAAA bribery, why didn't I think of that! Well I assure you that there is much chocolate in this chapter!

**Disclaimer: I may not own VA. But I own Sam and have a whole bag of chocolate in my pantry to keep him happy and with me lol ;)**

_"I'll make sure of it. It wasn't their fault that they're like this after all." _

_"And as for you!" Rose said addressing Adrian. _

_"What use do you have for me?" he asked in a seductive voice, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. _

_"I made a promise and I intend to keep it. I want you to change Sam back into a human."_

Sam's POV

YES! This was it! I was finally going to be able to eat chocolate again! I smiled so hard that I was sure that you could see my fangs from the other side of the room but I didn't care. It was finally time!

I ran up to Adrian excited and happy, wanting to give him a big hug to say thank you for helping me...but I must have gone too fast because he looked scared and took a few steps back and raised the stake that Rose had just thrown to him.

I stopped and frowned, wondering why he did that. Until I realized that he was scared of me. Why? Didn't Rose tell him that I was a good Strigoi?

"Woah there Sam, just take it easy," Rose said, stepping forward and putting a hand on my shoulder. "Adrian just isn't used to the idea of a friendly Strigoi yet. Why don't you stand a few feet away until he's ready to change you back to a human? Then you can hug him all you want ok?" Rose asked with a kind smile.

I nodded. I guess that it was ok, some people just didn't like to be hugged. Though I would never understand why. I walked back a bit and stood patiently as I watched Adrian play with the stake that Rose had given him. Rose told me all about what needed to happen so I wouldn't be confused or scared when this time came.

"Dimitri, considering that I'm being good enough to carry your child for nine months and really shouldn't be engaging in anything life threatening, would you be kind enough to hold Sam in case he moves like you did for me last time?" Rose asked in a sweet but sarcastic voice. Dimitri just laughed and kissed her temple before walking over to me.

It was a good thing that Rose suggested that. I was so excited to finally be getting changed back and would FINALLY be able to eat chocolate again that I was bouncing up and down on the balls of my feet. If Dimitri didn't hold me still then Adrian might miss my heart with his spirit stake altogether, and no one knew what would happen then.

"Ready cradle robber?" Adrian called out with a grin. Dimitri got me in to a pose I saw on wrestling once called "the full Nelson" pulling my arms over my head and wrapping his arms around me and behind my head, holding me so that I didn't move.

"Ready." Dimitri called out.

Than as quick as a Moroi could move, Adrian ran straight up to me and plunged the stake through my heart. I felt a shock, then a flash of warmth, then really tired. I slumped against Dimitri and fell to the floor and was asleep before I made it all the way down.

RPOV

I covered my eyes as a bright flash washed over the room. When I could see again, I looked over and watched Sam fall to the floor. Not moving.

Now speaking as one of the two surviving Dhampirs in the world to have ever been restored, I knew exactly what Sam was feeling right now, and what he was supposed to be doing. He was meant to feel a weird sensation as the stake sliced into his chest, then warmth spreading over him like slipping into a warm bath. Then he was meant to be dazed and disorientated.

But what he wasn't supposed to be was unconscious.

I quickly ran over to him and rolled him over onto his back and checked if he was still alive.

"Did you hit his heart?" I asked Adrian panicked as I hurriedly looked for a pulse, breathing a sigh of relief when I found it.

"Right in the centre I'm sure," Adrian said running back over to me and Sam.

"Then why is he knocked out? That's not meant to happen!" I said panicked that the restoration had somehow gone wrong. We all talked about it like it was a guarantee, but what we all failed to remember was that when I first looked into restoring anyone I was chasing down pure myth! And though it had worked well the handful of times that we had used it it wasn't fool proof!

Poor Sam. He just wanted to eat chocolate again!

"His breathing and heart beat is normal, and you can tell from just looking at him that he's human again, so I didn't think that there any cause for panic Roza," Dimitri's calm voice wrapped itself around me, calming me down. Stupid pregnancy hormones.

"And this actually makes sense in a way," Sydney said coming over to our little party.

"How does Sam passing out make sense?" I asked leaning back into Dimitri's arms for comfort.

"Well think about it. Dhampirs are stronger than Moroi. But Moroi are stronger than humans. Maybe not physically but genetically, that's why half Human half Moroi makes a super strong Dhampir. Now we've seen both Moroi and Dhampirs getting restored, but we've never seen a human. So while the Dhampirs and Moroi may just be disorientated, a human might not be able to handle so mush change to their body's at once. Which might be why Sam's body shut down and he passed out. My guess is that he's going to wake up in a few hours dizzy but fine and the first words out of his mouth will be asking chocolate."

Aaa Sydney, you could always count on her big brain to save the day.

Then somebody cleared their throat loudly and we all turned to look.

"Not that this little restoration and reunion isn't lovely, but if you can all remember that Court was recently under attack! and there are still many things that need to be done before it's safe enough to be patting yourselves on the back for a job well done," Hans said back into full head guardian mode.

"Right," I said snapping out of my worried emotional phase and taking control of the situation again. "Well the first thing that we need to do is get all of these Strigoi that we have here and the ones that Sam relocated under the tunnel under lock and key and make sure that there aren't any more of them.

"Then we need to quietly send Guardians out to all of the outposts that Tasha had set up for her surprise attack so they don't kill anyone else. Once Sydney has her cure then we can send it all over the world again to change them all back into humans. And because this batch is new and improved, it won't risk hurting anyone like the last bio weapon would," I said once again taking Hans job as Head Guardian. I just love being pregnant and being able to get away with whatever I want!

"And if you also wouldn't mind untying my team of Guardians that I left in the tunnels before I made my grand entrance? I'm sure that they don't appreciate being made sitting ducks down there," Hans said apparently not minding right now that I was kind of taking his job. But we both knew that it wouldn't last. I was far too irresponsible for a position like that.

But that didn't mean that I could have fun with it while it lasted!

"Mikhail, Eddie, untie Hans's guardians and then take a _BIG_ group of Guardians and search Court for any more Strigoi. And this time _try_ not to let yourselves get captured!" I said rolling my eyes like I was annoyed but grinning at the same time.

"Ma'am yes ma'am!" Eddie said saluting me before he and Mikhail ran off.

"Adrian get Sydney to her lab so she can start working on the cure.

"And would you two escort Hans to the Court prison until he's tested to make sure that he's still not under any compulsion that we don't know about yet?" I asked my parents. "And could you drop Sam off at the hospital while you're at it? I want to make sure that he's recovering alright."

"Sure thing Kiz," my dad said with an amused smile. He must like me bossing people around just as much as I did.

"The rest of you go and make yourselves useful, we've been invaded by Strigoi enough for you to all know the drill by now," I said waving my hand dismissively and barely holding in my laugh because of how true it was.

"And Christian! For crying out loud, get Lissa out of here and to a safe place! I'm sick of having her around so many unsafe Strigoi!" I yelled out in exasperation.

"For once I agree with you Rosie," Christian said with a sarcastic smirk as he led Lissa out of the room. I would have to get him back for calling me that later.

"And you!" I said turning around to face Dimitri before speaking in a soft voice. "Go and talk to Ivan. I can tell that it's eating you up inside that you thought that he was the traitor," I said as I cupped his face in my hands.

He let out a deep breath. "I swear that you can read my mind sometimes _milaya_. But I really don't want to leave your side right now. Not after everything that just happened."

"I'll be fine Comrade I promise," I said with a cocky attitude and smile. He was quiet for a while, just searching my eyes. Until he said,

"I'll go. But only if you promise to go back to our room and wait there until I know it's safe for you and the baby around Court," Dimitri said reaching out and holding my stomach.

I bit my lip. Now I know that I wasn't really in charge, and that even though I was barking orders like I was top dog, that it was only because that everyone here knew me and trusted my judgment or knew of my reputation enough not to ask questions. And I was fine with that. But I really didn't want to just sit back in my room relaxing when I could be out helping secure Court. Not to mention that I knew the most about what was happening.

"How about I just promise to stick around Guardian HQ until you get back for talking with Ivan? That way I'll be safe but still able to help out a bit," I negotiated, while smiling sweetly knowing that he wouldn't be able to say no.

"Fine," Dimitri said after a moment. "But I don't want any of your Rose logic showing up and thinking that "sticking around guardian HQ" doesn't necessarily mean staying there and not leaving to do anything else as long as it's close by. You stay there until I come and get you," he said in a stern voice.

Ok, I get that I'm pregnant and have to be a little extra carful, but that _doesn't _give him the right to order me around! But just before I was about to get mad and tell him _EXACTLY_ what he could with his '_demand_', he saved his ass.

He cupped my face with both hands and looked deeply and lovingly into my eyes and said, "I'm not trying to control you, but I literally just had to fight an epic battle of life and death and I almost had to sign both of our death warrants and our child's. So I'm sorry but I'm going to be a bit more protective for you for a while," he said still looking me deeply in my eyes, his filled with love.

I pulled him into a deep kiss but made sure to nip at his bottom lip before I pulled back completely. "You're lucky that you're such a sweet talker, or you would be getting your ass handed to you right now, you know that right?" I asked with a small smile.

He returned it with one of his full on smiles that lit up my world.

"I know."

DPOV

I walked over to Ivan's room and paused a minute before knocking. Rose was right as usual, I felt absolutely terrible. I can't believe I went out and accused my best friend of being a Strigoi lover. How stupid could I be? Not to mention hypocritical, I mean I was a Strigoi for crying out loud! I know that just because I was one once didn't mean that I wanted to be one again. But no. Instead of thinking clearly and looking at the situation from all different angles, I had to jump instantly to the worst and wrong conclusion. I just hoped that Ivan forgave me for being an idiot.

I knocked on the door and waited, after a minute he answered looking worried.

"Hi Dimka, is there a problem?" he asked me not rudely or disrespectfully, but like he was expecting for me to escort him to the HQ for questioning. I should have expected that I guess.

"I came here to apologize," I said quickly before I said anything else stupid. "I should have never thought so lowly of you. I, of all people, should know that just because you were a Strigoi once doesn't mean that you still think or act like them. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt. Or at least asked you what was going on instead of accusing you in front of everyone like I did. I acted impulsively and foolishly and I'm sorry and-"

The rest of my apology was cut off by Ivan wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into a hug. I hugged him back, happy that my idiot accusation didn't cost me one of the longest and best friendships of my life.

"It's alright Dimka I forgive you," Ivan said as he pulled back and gave me a small smile. "It did hurt a bit that you had so little faith in me but I can understand why. I mean your fiancée was kidnapped by Strigoi and nothing was getting done about it and I was acting strangely. Really it's my fault for not telling you what was up with me in the first place."

"But you had a right to keep quiet about it!" I argued back, not ready to be forgiven so easily. "I was gone when you came back and you didn't have a chance to talk to me when I came back, and I was having doubts about you before I even got back to Court. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions so fast."

"And I would be jumping to conclusions and attacking shadows too if our situations were reversed and Violet was the one that was being held captive by my psycho ex-girlfriend. Dimka, it's ok," Ivan said reaching out and squeezing my shoulder.

"Thank you for understanding," I said smiling back at him.

"Hey, what are friends for?" Ivan asked.

"Saving each others asses from Strigoi?" I said with a smile.

Ivan laughed. "No, that's what our woman are for," Ivan said and we both cracked up.

"Do you want to come in for a bit?" Ivan asked opening his door.

"Not right now, I made Rose promise not to leave Guardian HQ until I was there to make sure that she didn't get herself into trouble," I said wheezing slightly at the look that Rose had givan me for trying to order her around. And I hadn't been, not really, I just didn't want her going out anywhere really dangerous until I was by her side.

Ivan whistled surprisingly. "I'm surprised that you don't have a black eye after that. I wouldn't be brave enough to order Rose to do anything."

"I know, I had to do some emergency sucking up to get out of that hole," I said with a weary smile.

"Well I'm sure I'll see you soon enough. Bye Dimka," Ivan waved.

"Bye Ivan."

Sam's POV

I opened up my eyes and wow! Everything was so clear! I could see very well as a Strigoi, but this was different. As a Strigoi, everything was sharp and clear, but there was no light. Now everything was like a big bunch of colours! And it looked soft! Like I could just snuggle deep into my blanket and everything would be alright.

I sat up slowly and looked around me. It looked like I was in a hospital. Uh, does that mean it worked? I hoped so. I sure felt different. I looked around and saw a room that led off of mine that I guessed was the bathroom. I hurried over to it to look in the mirror and...

YES! I was me again! I didn't have red rimmed eyes or fangs and while I did look very pale, it wasn't the Strigoi kind. No, it was the 'I need to get more sun kind!' I jumped up and down, not caring that my while body felt like I had just spent all day at the gym.

I was so excited that I didn't hear the person knocking at the door. I quickly ran back to my bed and got in. I didn't want to get in trouble for being out of bed when I shouldn't be.

The door opened and in walked a nice looking Moroi man carrying a clipboard.

"Well hello mister...uuuh it just says Sam," the moroi said looking at me.

"Yep, that's my name," I said with a smile.

"...right, well everything's looking normal with you but I want to keep you under observation over night just to make sure that nothing goes wrong. We've never had a human get turned back from being a Strigoi before."

"Tasha wanted my brain that's all." I said shrugging my shoulders.

"Ok...well I guess I'll leave you to rest now." he said walking out the door.

"WAIT!" I cried out. He couldn't leave yet!

"What's the matter?" he asked coming back.

"Rose promised me that if I helped her she would give me chocolate after I was changed back!" I cried. I really wanted to get my chocolate! I had been so good and waited for so long!

But the doctor just laughed like I was joking! This was no joke! Who would joke about as serious a thing as chocolate?!

"Alright, how about I send a nurse up here with a big slice of chocolate cake? Does that sound good?" the doc asked with a smile.

_Hhuuu Cake!_ "Yes please!" I said with a big smile. Chocolate AND cake! That was like the two best things in the world combined as one!

He laughed again. "Alright I'll send her right up," he said and walked out.

I waited in bed bouncing up and down a bit in excitement. I waited almost a whole ten minutes until I heard another soft knock on my door.

"Come in!" I called out in an excited voice.

I heard another soft musical laugh as a sweet smelling Moroi lady walked in the room with TWO pieces of chocolate cake on a plate. They looked so most and sweet and yummy!

"The doctor said that you were so excited about cake that I thought that you might need a second piece just in case," she said and I looked up to see her with an equally as sweet smile on her face.

And then I gasped,

"What? What's wrong?" the nurse asked looking alarmed.

"JANE!"

"Yes?" she asked confused.

"I know you!" I said excitedly.

"You do? How?" she asked surprised.

"It's me! SAM!" I said pointing to myself. "We used to play together in the sand pit while our mums talked about work!" My mum was a very smart scientist that worked a lot with microbiology and was doing a lot of work with Jane's mum who worked in the hospital helping find cures to things.

"Sam..." Jane said slowly, like she was searching her memory for me. I had a really good memory and recognized her right away, but she still needed more time.

Then suddenly a big smile crossed her face. "SAM!" And she came over and sat next to me and started laughing.

"How did you even recognise me? It's been at lest ten years since we played together!" Jane said still smiling as she sat down with the cake.

"Well I would be a pretty terrible boyfriend for forget my first girlfriend," I said with a cheeky smile. Jane blushed and looked down at the cake that she was still holding.

When we were little we agreed,to be boyfriend and girlfriend and pinky promised that when we grew up that we would get married some day.

"I can't believe that you still remember that," Jane said with a little blush.

"I remember everything, but mostly you," I said looking into her lovely brown eyes. They looked like chocolate too. And she still smelled sweet, like bubble gum.

"I remember how you used to help me dig mots so that the bad people couldn't invade my castle," Jane said with a smile.

"And I remember how you always made me wash my face and hands before you would let me eat anything after we played on the swings," I said smiling back.

"Hey! Do you know how many germs are on these swings? I probably saved you from catching something terrible heaps of times!" Jane said with her lovely laugh, before looking down and realizing that she was still holding the cake.

"Oh I'm sorry, you must really be looking forward to this, I remember how much you loved chocolate. And it's even been heated up so it's all warm and soft," she said handing it to me.

I took it and picking up the fork and took a big bite! I closed my eyes as the warm sweet taste of chocolate coated my mouth.

"Mmmm how have I gone so long without tasting this?!" I asked before taking another big bite. Jane just laughed again. I loved her laugh. It was so big and happy that it made me want to laugh too.

"So how long have you worked in the hospital?" I asked as I kept eating.

"A few years now, I'm working for my PHD in Science like my mother."

"Well you would be really good at that. How's it going?" I asked as I finished my first piece of cake. I really wanted to eat up the second pice, but I also wanted to share it with Jane to show her that I cared. I decided that this was a good first step to do that.

"You can have the second piece," I said offering it to her with a smile.

"Oh Sam...no I couldn't.."

"It's ok, I can get more later now that I'm human again," I said with a big smile.

"Well...ok," she said and started eating. So far so good!

"Tell me about your work, have you done any interesting experiments?" I asked

"Oh yes! I did my thesis paper on healing male baldness and had a big success." She said with a big smile, but I could tell that she was hiding something.

"What aren't you telling me?" I asked raising one eyebrow.

Jane let out a breath. "You always were able to tell when I was lying or leaving something out."

"You could to that to me as well," I reminded her with another smile. I loved that I could do that whenever I wanted now and that my fangs didn't scare people!

"Yes..well...my first big experiment happened with a few colleagues of mine in the room and at first it was a huge success! The man that was trying to grow facial and head hair grew it at an increasing amount! But after a few minutes, he grew far too much and his face and neck looked much longer and...well his voice also changed," she said looking down for a bit.

"He was fine of course!" she continued after a moment. "But after that I sort of acquired a rather annoying and confusing nickname."

"Which was...?"

"Um...there are a few different versions...but the main one is...

The talking Llama."

_I think I'm in love. _

I couldn't help it. I laughed. A big deep belly laugh that I was sure you could hear from all the way down the hall.

Jane was laughing and blushing too.

"Wow that's a good one! And I bet that you have to keep retelling that story to everyone that hears it and asks," I said still smiling.

"Yes, it gets annoying sometimes but it's still a good story," Jane said still laughing and smiling. She was pretty when she did that. So pretty that I decided to do something sneaky. I decided to use my brain to see if she still liked me.

"Do you remember when we carved our initials into a tree with a love heart around it?" I asked looking at her closely.

"Uh yes, I do," she said. And she blushed again!

"How about we go back to that park again after I get let out? See if it's still there," I asked crossing my fingers that she would say yes. If she did then she must like me. I know that it's been a long time, but I still liked her.

_Please say yes...please! I'll give you more chocolate cake! _

"I'de love that! And we can swing on the swings just like we used to!" Jane said with a big smile.

YES! This had to be the bestest day ever!

**AAAAA Sam finally got chocolate! AND a girl! Not to mention the talking llama! **

**Hhhhhh (gasp) That must be why it kept following me around my story! The talking Llama was really Jane! And she wanted me to reunite her with Sam! **

**Wow now THAT'S an epic love story!**

**Sorry for all of the POVs but I just wanted to cover everything. So just the epilogue to go and this story is over! :( aaaw don't get to sad...we still have the wedding and baby's! **

**So I already know what I'm going to call Roses baby, but anyone want to suggest a name for Violets? **

**Review and let me know!:)**


	32. Chapter 32

**Well hello again! I know I know it's been awhile! Sorry but I had to move house AGAIN! But that will be the last time! So I know that your all keen to just jump in and finish off this amazing story (if I do say so myself) but let me just give a shout out to Raininthesun. Thanks for giving me the kick that I needed to finish this story. **

**Disclaimer: RM owns everything, so I will just make the talking Llama kidnap her and eat her hair until she gives it to me lol.**

"_Do you remember when we carved our initials into a tree with a love heart around it?" I asked looking at her closely._

_"Uh yes, I do," she said. And she blushed again!_

_"How about we go back to that park again after I get let out? See if it's still there," I asked crossing my fingers that she would say yes. If she did then she must like me. I know that it's been a long time, but I still liked her. _

_Please say yes...please! _

_"I'd love that! And we can swing on the swings just like we used to!" Jane said with a big smile. _

_YES! This had to be the bestest day ever! _

RPOV

6 months later.

I screamed again as another powerful contraction hit me and I shut my eyes as I squeezed the life out of Dimitri's hand and kept breathing deeply until it passed.

"You're doing great Roza, just keep breathing," Dimitri said for the umpteenth time as he kissed my sweat soaked forehead.

"Yeah well that's easy for you to say! You're not the one having the baby here!" I shouted as I death glared him once again for getting me into this mess. "And if you even think about touching me again after this then I'm going to make it impossible for you to have any more children as painfully as I can!" I yelled, well and truly over this whole labor thing.

"Whatever you say dear," Dimitri said barely managing to keep a straight face while I threatened him with something so stupid that he knew I wouldn't go through with. We had both talked about having more children after this and I was all for it. But he should keep his mouth shut and not remind me of that fact if he didn't want to get knocked out by his pregnant fiancé! Because let me tell you I was this close to it!

But I did have to hand it to Dimitri, after thirteen hours of being yelled at, you would think that he would be just a little bit agitated or cranky at me. But noooo. Just try and keep that smile off of his face!...Well not that the whole me being in pain bit, but the fact that it was finally time for us to meet our baby. And to be honest, I was pretty glad that the time had come as well. I was over being the size of a house and having everyone treat me as though I was made of glass! Heck, I could probably take on half of them when I was in labor!

I cried out again as the most powerful of the contractions so far hit me and I knew that it was time.

"Dimitri!" I cried out.

"I'm right here Roza, it's ok," he said reassuringly from my side.

"Alright Rose, it's time to push," the Court doctor said as she got into place at the business end of the delivery table.

"Alright on three. 1,2,3!"

I pushed as hard as I could and felt something _MOVE_.

"Ok good. One more big push and we're done. Come on Rose 1,2,3."

I pushed so hard that I felt my face turning red and I didn't think that I had anymore left in me...until I heard it.

"Aaaah waaaa waaa."

The entire room froze as we all heard that sweet cry for the first time.

"Congratulations it's a boy!" the doctor said after cutting the umbilical cord and cleaning him up before placing him in my arms. A BOY! I looked down at my sweet baby and fell instantly in love for the second time in my life. He was absolutely perfect. I looked up into Dimitri's deep brown eyes and saw the same thing in them.

"Ivan," Dimitri whispered as he looked back up into my eyes and smiled. "Ivan Mason," I said saying the name that we had agreed on if we had a son. I looked back down at our son. Our miracle baby.

"Aren't you tired of watching that thing yet?" A voice said from behind me, snapping me out of my own little world and back into the present. I reached for the remote and hit stop on the DVD before turning around carefully on the couch of our home with Ivan sleeping contently in my arms to look at Dimitri.

"What's to get sick of? It's the day that I brought our son into the world and as such one of the most important days of our life. Followed closely by the first time that you told me that you loved me and our wedding. Which by the way is on next after I finish watching this one," I said turning back around to the TV.

"Again," Dimitri said in an exasperated tone of voice. But he had a little smile pulling at his lips as he came around to sit next to me. I decided to stop this one and just skip right on to our wedding. We had been married two months ago in a small by Lissa's standards but big for mine wedding. I had wanted to do it in Russia, but having only just recently had a baby, and Violet being due any day now we had just decided to have it at Court.

"You know no matter how many times that I see this, I still just can't believe my luck that you're mine now," Dimitri said snuggling up next to me and stealing Ivan from my arms. "And that you're mine too," he said in a coo. It was so funny hearing my tough ass Russian speaking in such a soft loving voice that was universally reserved for babies.

"Well you have the rest of our life together to get used to it," I said teasingly as I watched myself walk down the aisle once again. My dress was simply lovely. It was a classic white with a red corset that set off my dark skin nicely and helped hide my left over baby weight and a flowing full skirt. Ivan was of course Dimitri's best man and we all got a kick out of Ivan holding 'Ivan' at the altar as our ring baby.

"It really was a nice wedding, and I can't believe that Jane caught the bouquet," Dimitri said with an amused smile.

"And I know that Sam rigged it so that he could catch my garder, I think that he's smitten with her," I said with a smug smile of my own because I had been let in on the big news last night. I know that it wasn't really my doing, but I felt somewhat proud of me being involved with both Ivan and Sam finding the objects of their affections. Huh maybe when I get too old for this Guardian stuff I could get to the matchmaking department?

"Mmm speaking of that, did you hear that- " he was interrupted by his phone beeping. Handing Ivan to me and looking at the caller ID he answered it with a grin.

"Ivan, we were just talking about... What? She is?!" he said abruptly. I sat up, ready to spring into action if needed.

"Yes...alright, we'll be right there," he said before hanging up and looking at me with excitement in his eyes.

"What it is?"

"It's Violet, she's gone into labor."

Five hours later and we were all in the delivery room watching Violet and Ivan fawn over there brand new arrival. Though Adrian didn't look overly thrilled at the idea of babies, Lissa and Christian were looking as though they wouldn't mind it so much.

"She's so beautiful," I said looking down at her. I could already tell that she was going to have her mum's strawberry blond hair, but I was betting that she would have her father's eyes.

"She takes after her mother," Ivan said leaning down and kissing Violet softly on her forehead.

"Well? What are you all waiting for? What's her name?" Sam of all people asked. I had made it my mission to make sure that after Sam was changed back into a human that he would be looked after and treated right. And somehow that had turned into him being a permanent fixture in my little family group. Not to mention that with him working as head tactician for Hans he was considered an honorary Guardian, so was automatically accepted as one of us anyway. But it was nice to know that Sam was happy and being treated well. And eating his body weight in chocolate almost every day.

Ivan and Violet looked at each other before Violet said, "Her name is Roza," with a mischievous grin.

It was a good thing that Dimitri was holding the baby right then or I might just have dropped her out of shock. "Ro...What?... Really?" I asked not believing it. I mean I know that we kind of named our baby after Ivan, but it had made sense. Both Ivan and Mason had played major parts in our life and had been taken from us (one way or another) far too soon. So we honored their memory by naming our baby after them. But I would never have seen this coming.

I watched dumbfounded as they both giggled at my reaction. "Of course Rose. If it wasn't for you then we never would have gotten back together and had a chance to have this baby at all!" Ivan said with a grin.

I smiled and wiped away a few tears before looking back at Lissa who was also getting a little teary eyed. "Don't you dare get any ideas!" I growled. I couldn't have everyone who's life that I had dramatically changed naming their daughters after me or there would be WAY too many Roses in the world for anyone to handle.

"No promises," Lissa said glancing at Christian who was glaring back at her.

"What about us little Dhampir? I certainly wouldn't be with Sydney if it weren't for you," Adrian said with his devil may care smile.

"Try it and you will be having all sorts of fun figuring out if you can in fact heal and grow back parts of your lost anatomy," I threatened which just made him laugh louder. Until Sydney elbowed him in the ribs.

"On another note," Sydney said bring the conversation back to Violet and the baby. "Has anyone taken a sample of the baby's blood? Just to make sure that it wasn't somehow contaminated from Ivan's transformation?"

I had allowed Sydney, and by extension the Court scientists, to do at least that much with Ivan and the test had come back clear. There was no damaging affects from both Dimitri and I having been Strigoi at one point in our lives, so I wasn't overly worried about Violet and Roza.

"Yeah, but it's come back all clear. She's just perfect," Violet said lovingly over her baby.

"Wonderful. Because while the vaccine worked on all of the other Strigoi, I would really rather not try it out on a newborn," Sydney said visibly relaxing. After months of testing, lots of coffee and little sleep, Sydney had managed to come up with a way to not only cure the Strigoi plague, but turn them all back into people and Dhampirs. And to some how "poison" the air so that if any Moroi did willingly turn Strigoi then they wouldn't be able to breathe and suffocate before having a chance to hurt anyone. Not the most humane way to get rid of them, but if they chose to turn then they deserve what they got.

I looked around at the delivery room full of my friends and thought that life really couldn't get any better than this. All was right with the world and my friends, our babies were happy and healthy, the Strigoi were gone from the world. Tasha was dead. And, not that I was allowed to tell a soul yet, but Sam had proposed to Jane last night, at the park that they had played at as children, to which she had of course said yes. They didn't want to steal Violet's happy moment and were going to wait a little bit before announcing it. I was already planning to surprise Sam at the reception with a giant chocolate fountain. There could be no better gift for him. And I was sure that soon after their wedding, we would all end up in a similar delivery room to this one with their little Dhampir baby to add to our group.

I didn't want to jinx it, but I seriously didn't think that life could get any better than this.

The End.

**well, there you have it. Thank you to all of you who stayed with me from the beginning and gave me all of the lovely and funny reviews that I thrive on. So thank you and goodbye **㈳9


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